Gunnin' For You
by Sirens Symphony
Summary: The Titans get some unexpected help from a stranger, but what happens when a dark presence from her past joins forces with their enemy? And how will she and Raven cope with their growing feelings for one another? RavenxOC Femslash.
1. Teenagers

_Summary: __The Titans get some unexpected help from a stranger. A dark presence from her past comes back to haunt her, and the Titans. What happens when She and Raven start growing feelings beyond friendship?__ RavenxOc Femmeslash._

_I just want to make things clear, this is a femmeslash between Raven and an OC. If you don't like that, there's a nifty back button you can click. For any that are left (cookies all around) please be nice to me? :3. This is my first story like..ever. lol. And I know this chapter is pretty short, I plan on making them a little longer throughout... _

_I also decided to name every chapter after a song, so that should be interesting. Most of the time they'll be relevant to the chapter except for probably the first few chapters because frankly those are just hard to come up with -_-" and I'd recommend listening to them if want if you're the type of person who can listen to listen to all types of music. I'll list who they're by at the end of the chapter._

_Oh, Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Or the songs I use. (Shock, awe. I know.)_

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><p><strong>Teenagers<strong>

A girl with brown hair wearing a black jacket and blue jeans made her way onto the balcony of the pizza place. Readjusting the backpack over her shoulder, her hazel eyes scanned the balcony. The first—and really only—thing she noticed was a group five teenagers sitting at one of the tables. The reason she'd noticed them was because 1, they were the only other occupants, and 2, they were incredibly strange looking. She realized that's probably why they were the only ones there. Sighing, she grabbed the table on the opposite side of the balcony and sat down as she waited for her order to arrive. While she waited, her eyes couldn't help but wander to the other occupants of the balcony.

The robot looking one and the green one were fighting over something, that was obvious, while the one with massively gelled hair and colorful tights was trying to calm them down. The girl with red hair was talking excitedly to the girl in the blue cloak, while she, on the other hand, looked bored out of her skull.

The whole scene almost made the brown haired girl laugh out loud; though she somehow kept herself in check. She had to admit, they were rather intriguing to watch. For some reason, she wanted to know more about them, or at least who they were. But for the moment she just wanted her order, because her stomach was on the verge of digesting itself.

Suddenly a tall, black haired waiter about her age came out with her order and set it on her table, answering her silent prayers. She offered him her thanks, and just as he was about to walk off she realized she could probably settle a couple questions about the other occupants that she had.

The problem was she would probably sound like a creeper. After a moment of silent debate she decided it was worth it.

"Excuse me," She started.

The waiter turned around, "Yeah?"

"Uh...I was just wondering...do you know who they are?" She asked, slyly pointing to the five surrounding the other table, still doing pretty much the same thing.

He snorted, thinking she was joking, "Yeah." He then began to turn around and walk away yet again.

The girl, rather confused and slightly upset with his answer, furrowed her brows. "Well...who are they?" she asked his retreating form. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking at her incredulously.

"Seriously? Where are you from?" He asked as he walked back over to her table. She sighed and pointed east. He followed her gesture and again looked at her incredulously, "Like, from another state, or another _planet_? Everyone knows who they are."

"I don't..." She half pouted, half defended herself.

The waiter caught the look on the girls face and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry, it's been a long shift. Let's start over?" he asked, sitting down across from her with a grin. "Hi, I'm Justin."

The girl couldn't help but giggle, "I'm Alex."

"It's nice to meet you, Alex." Justin said, still grinning. "What's with the interest in the Titans?"

"Titans?" She asked

"Oh yeah, that's what they're called. The Teen Titans." He answered.

Alex nodded, "Interesting...and I don't really know. They just seem...intriguing to me I guess."

Justin snorted, "Yeah, to you and just about everyone else."

"So...the Teen Titans, huh? Why are they called that?"

"Well, they're super heroes of course."

Alex raised a brow, curiosity thoroughly piqued; "Really now?"

"Yeah." Justin nodded, "I thought the whole 'Teen Titans' thing gave it away. It does sound rather super hero-ish."

Alex rolled her eyes, but eventually agreed. "So if you have super heroes here, does that mean there are super _villains_?"

Justin waved a dismissive hand, "Yeah, but the Titans take care of that. They've saved the world like half a dozen times. _You, _m'dear, should be careful though. All kinds of stuff happens around here. "

"Aw, you're so sweet." Alex said, half sarcastically. "But thanks. I can take care of myself."

"That's what they all say." Justin sing-songed "Then they end up in a ditch somewhere..."

"Well aren't you just a Debbie Downer." Alex said with a grin.

"Hey." Justin shrugged, "I'm just stating the facts."

"Well, if the Titans are as _awesome_ as you say they are, I don't have to worry about anything." Alex pointed out.

"Tch, they can't be everywhere at once." He said, before suddenly it looked like a light bulb went off over his head. "However...I _am _pretty tight with them, so if you just hang out with me, I'm pretty sure they'll protect you."

Alex raised a questioning brow, looking at him incredulously.

Justin raised his hands defensively, "Okay, okay! I'm pretty sure at least _three_ of them know my name." He said, making Alex chuckle.

"That's definitely something to be proud of." Alex nodded her sarcastic approval.

Justin suddenly noticed that Alex had yet to take a bite of her pizza, "It's probably cold by now." he mumbled.

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

"Your pizza. It's probably cold...want me to go warm it up?" Justin asked.

Alex looked down at her plate and had the same realization as Justin, "Uh, sure. If that's okay."

"Yeah, don't worry about it." He said, getting up and taking her plate. "Be right back." He said, walking back inside.

Alex sighed, bored. Soon enough she began to spy on the table with the five other occupants again, while ignoring the voice in her head that was calling her a creeper.

By now the group had calmed down quite a bit, and had begun eating whatever they'd ordered as they all—with the exception of the blue cloaked one—laughed at something the green one said. Suddenly the one in the blue cloak looked up and Alex found herself staring into the most intense set of violet eyes she'd ever seen. Alex realized that the girl must have noticed her staring, and actually thought of her as some sort of creeper. Alex immediately looked down, blushing intensely.

Nearby a building alarm suddenly sounded, causing Alex to look back up and search for the source. By the time she looked back over at the table where the Titans were sitting, they had already jumped into action. Jumping up from her seat, she rushed over a few feet from the edge of the balcony and watched as they were faced by three foes.

"Titans, go!" The one with massively gelled hair called, sending the whole team to action. Alex watched all their powers in action, immediately becoming impressed, if not somewhat envious of their skills. It seemed the battle would be over quickly, if not because the villains were out numbered, then just because they were out skilled. Not too long into the fight, they captured an unconscious pink-haired villain, but before they could deal with the other two they ran away.

Alex snorted, "Cowards," She mumbled as they ran passed the balcony.

A moment later, Alex felt the balcony tremble with great force as someone landed on it, knocking over a few tables in the process, followed by a colossal shadow forming over her, "Her?" A gruff voice asked.

"Yeah. She'll do perfect." Another high pitched, nasally voice answered. And before Alex could turn around to digest what was happening, a giant hand grabbed her up by both wrists and dangled her over the edge of the balcony with his monstrous strength.

Alex looked down at the street below her, immediately regretting it as she squeezed her eyes shut, looking back up, "Guys, guys...don't I get a say in this?" She asked with a nervous chuckle.

The big one furrowed his brows, confused that she was talking, "No. You're the hostage."

"Mammoth, I swear, if you instigate anything I'm going to tell Jinx this was all your fault—"

"_What_! That's not fair! I didn't even start anything, she started talking to _me_! And this was your idea!" Mammoth shot back, tightening his grip on Alex's wrists in anger.

"Yeah, well, if Jinx wouldn't have gotten caught then none of this would have had to happen. Plus, this _booger-blaster _had the nerve to call us cowards. She's perfect for what we need."

"You were running away. That's pretty cowardly." Alex stated as she dangled in the air, "Even now you're hiding behind me, a seventeen year old girl, instead of fighting to get your friend back. Yeah, you guys are _baaad." _She finished, satisfied with what she'd said.

The smaller of the two suddenly had his face shoved in Alex's, and that's when she noticed he had a jet pack propelling him in the air. Alex decided she wanted one of those.

"You have _no idea_ what you're talking about, barf-for-brains. I know exactly what I'm doing! The Titans are so goody-goody they'll be too scared that we'll hurt you so they'll give us Jinx back right away as long as we stinkin' promise not to hurt _you_. Which is becoming increasingly harder for me not to do. So you better watch what you say."

"Right." Alex nodded, as he began propelling himself away. "Let me just throw some logic at you. You see the Titans over there? They realized that you captured me about five seconds after the fact. I'm pretty sure they've been working on a plan, and/or waiting for demands ever since. Either way...I think you guys are kinda screwed, here. You should have just kept running."

"Uhh...Gizmo? I think she has a point...maybe we should leave..." Mammoth said, causing Alex to smirk.

"No, you big idiot! That's what she's trying to get us to do!" Gizmo yelled, slapping Mammoth over the head.

"Ow!" Mammoth said, which was followed by a clanging further down the balcony echoed by someone else murmuring 'ow'.

Alex bowed her head and sighed, recognizing the voice. She silently prayed he hid behind a table or something. Gizmo went to go investigate, and indeed found him cowering behind one of the tables. Clearing his throat he stood up and waved sheepishly, "Hi."

"Hi, Justin." Alex said in a monotone voice, while still staring out and seeing the Titans standing there. She briefly wondered if they were going to do anything any time soon, but soon realized that now that Gizmo and Mammoth had two hostages they had gained another advantage.

"Looky here, another barf-brain." Gizmo smirked.

"Does this mean we can ask for more?" Mammoth asked without turning around.

"Justin, did you bring anything out with you?" Alex asked.

"No talking!" Gizmo ordered before answering Mammoth's question, and they soon got into a heated discussion on what to do.

Once it looked like Gizmo was distracted enough, Justin answered, "A pizza pan..."

Alex would have face palmed if she could have. "What, serio—" She sighed, "Never mind. Just hit it into Gizmo's jet pack with it as hard as you can, okay?"

"Okay."

"...And then we can—wait, what? No, don't!" Too late. Justin had already flung the pan as hard as he could into the jetpack, sending sparks everywhere making Gizmo fly in all different directions before he finally flew off into the sky, screaming all the while. Alex decided she didn't want one of those jetpacks anymore.

"Wow, it worked." She said, definitely impressed.

"I _know,_ right!" Justin laughed before he realized Mammoth was still there, holding Alex, and looking very angry. Alex on the other hand, didn't look very nervous.

"Well now it's just us, isn't it Mammoth?" Alex asked as Mammoth as he brought her closer to him.

"...And me." Justin said meekly.

Alex tried not to sigh, the moment completely ruined. "Justin, go back inside, I don't want you to get hurt."

"But—"

"_Please._"

Justin nodded and slowly made his way inside, while still watching from just inside the door. Alex looked back at Mammoth as he clasped his other hand around her neck, "What makes you think you're getting away?"

Alex glanced over and saw three of the five Titans running over, but realized they'd be too late. Grinning, she looked back at Mammoth, "What makes you think I'm _not_?"

Lifting her legs up, she kicked his stomach, while he immediately let go of his hold on her wrists as she did a back flip through the air, landing on the street below.

_I'd say that gets an eight. _She thought, grinning as she landed.

He growled in frustration, following her as soon as he regained his composure. Running towards her, Mammoth threw a punch at her, but Alex easily dodged it, throwing one of her own that he blocked with his huge arms. Alex crouched and extended her leg, kicking Mammoth's feet out from under him. After he landed on the ground with a solid _thud_, she punched him square in the jaw.

Thinking it was over, Alex turned back towards the balcony to find Justin standing there with a gaping 'o' on his mouth, making her smirk slightly. Suddenly he shouted, "Alex, look out!"

Before she had time to react she had the wind knocked out of her and she was tackled to the ground by a giant _thing._

That _thing_ turned out to be Mammoth. Alex knew that it wasn't good as his entire body covered hers and he wrapped his hands around her neck and began to squeeze. She already had the breath knocked out of her, and she couldn't breathe any oxygen back in as he was _choking _her. Alex struggled to get free as much as she could, but the more she struggled, the tighter his hold became, as she slowly began to feel her consciousness slip away.

Suddenly she heard a goat bleat and someone yell, "Get off her!" And the next thing she knew, she could breathe again. Sitting up and taking a few deep breaths, she coughed and instantly put her hand to her throat and began to massage it.

"Are you alright?" She heard a voice filled with concern immediately to her side ask. Looking over she saw the boy with green skin and black and purple tights from before.

Nodding, she cleared her throat although it hurt, "Where are the others?"

"Star and Raven are chasing down Gizmo; you sure did a number on him. Robin and Cy are getting Mammoth right now." He answered.

"What about that girl...uh, Jinx."

"Oh, the cops already got her."

Alex nodded again, followed by a somewhat awkward silence.

"So...anyway, I'm Beast Boy!" He said getting up and extending his hand to help her up, "What's your name?"

"Alex." She said, gratefully excepting his help.

"See those two? That's Cyborg and Robin." Beast Boy said, as Cyborg was dragging an unconscious Mammoth to the police. Robin walked up to Beast Boy and Alex.

"Robin, this is Alex. Alex, Robin." Beast Boy introduced.

"Nice to meet you." Robin said.

"Yeah." Alex greeted.

"Hey y'all. Who's this?" Cyborg asked as he walked up.

"Alex. She was the hostage." Robin answered.

"Man, you're the one who sent the little brat flyin'? I gotta hand it to ya', girl." Cyborg chuckled

"Actually, that was Justin..." Alex answered, looking down, a little embarrassed.

"Justin? As in, the pizza guy Justin? _Damn_, we have to start giving him more credit." Cyborg said, impressed.

"He...kind of hit Gizmo with a pizza pan..." Alex explained.

"That...is so..._awesome_!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "Pizza saves the day!"

The others chuckled while Alex noticed something crashing from the sky-headed straight for them, or rather, headed straight for Beast Boy. "Look out!" She said, but Beast Boy didn't know what she was talking about and just rubbed his head in confusion. Sighing in frustration, Alex leaned forward and hugged Beast Boy tightly while Gizmo came flying haphazardly towards them.

"Someone stop this thing!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. As he was about to collide with Beast Boy, he instead flew straight _through_ both him and Alex, as if nothing were there. Beast Boy watched as Gizmo flew out of Alex's back and crashed straight into the Pizza place. "Ow..." Gizmo called from the ground as his leg twitched in an awkward position.

"...What just happened?" He asked with wide eyes, as he stepped back from Alex's embrace.

"I tried to tell you to look out..." She began to explain.

"No...I mean...he went...like..._through_ us..." Beast Boy said, turning a paler shade of green. "How did that happen?"

"How did you do that, Alex?" Robin asked, brows raised high.

"I just...kind of can." Alex shrugged, uncomfortable with the question. "Anyway, Ima get going...thanks for saving me—bye."

Alex couldn't get away from them fast enough as she practically ran back up to the balcony to get her backpack, sighing with relief that it was still there. On her way out, she ran into Justin.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi."

"Why didn't you tell me you had a super power!" He said excitedly.

Alex rolled her eyes, "What am I supposed to say, 'Hey there, I'm Alex and I'm a freak!'?

"It doesn't make you a freak, it makes you...freakin' cool." Justin smiled, making Alex roll her eyes again as opened the door to leave.

But as soon as she walked out the door, a microphone was shoved in her face.

"Were you the hostage turned hero?"

"What's your name?"

"What kind of power do you have?"

"Are you a new member of the Teen Titans?"

"Um…" Alex said as she began to back away, but the door blocked her path. She didn't know what else to do, so she just answered the questions, albeit nervously, "I was a hostage…I'm not really a hero. My name is Alex. I can…I can walk through stuff. And I'm not a member of anything…so…"

"She's not a member, but she is quite helpful." Came Robin's voice from the side.

_Oh, thank god. _Alex thought.

"Robin!" The reporters all exclaimed at once.

"Do you think she has the potential to be the newest member of the Teen Titans?"

"I don't know about that, we'll have to see. If you'll excuse us, we have matters to discuss." He said, dragging Alex and Justin away.

"Thank you _so much_ for that." Alex gushed.

"No problem, I know how they can be." He smiled.

Alex looked over the group and noticed the two girls from earlier, the red-head, who was watching Alex rather excitedly and expectantly, and the girl in the blue cloak who was looking at Alex like she was...angry or something.

"Alex!" Beast Boy exclaimed suddenly, "Let me officially introduce you to the team. This is Robin—he's what you would call the 'leader', then there's Cyborg—the 'techy' guy, you already met those two, and then there's Raven—she's pretty much the Morbid Mindy of the group—"

"It's called being a realist." She countered.

"And then there's Starfire." Beast Boy continued, as if Raven hadn't interrupted, "She's the cute, happy-go-lucky girl of the team. Pretty much the opposite of Raven.

"What does that make you?" Alex asked Beast Boy.

"Me? Why, the handsome funny one, of course." Beast Boy beamed with an attempt at a charming smile, making Alex giggle.

"It's nice to meet you..." Alex nodded towards the Titans. "I'm Alex."

"It is wonderful to meet you, as well, Alex!" Starfire came up and gave Alex one of those back-breaking hugs. Alex tried not to yell in pain, although it would have been hard since she couldn't really breathe, either.

"She needs to breathe, Star." Raven said.

As soon as Starfire let go, Alex put a hand on her knee and took a couple deep breaths, "Note to self: you're super strong."

Starfire simply gave a huge grin, "I hope we become great friends!" And Alex gave a thumbs up from her hand-on-knee position.

After regaining her composer Alex sensed another awkward silence coming on. Intending to avoid it she said, "Well...I better get going. Bye guys."

"Wait, where are you going?" Robin asked.

"Uhh...to find a hotel. Or if all else fails, a relatively comfortable alleyway." She replied honestly.

"Why don't you stay with us for a while? At least while you're staying here in Jump City." Robin insisted, either not noticing or ignoring the glare Raven was sending his way. Alex on the other hand, noticed it and was kind of freaked out.

"...You know, I'm not sure." Alex tried to decline in the nicest way possible.

"Come on, Alex. It'll be fun. This way you'll save some cash, too." Beast Boy tried to reason.

"I've got plenty of cash to last me a few nights," Alex said, taking out her wallet from her back pocket for good measure, "See?" She asked as she opened it, as the group gathered around to look and see into her...

Empty wallet. Beast Boy thought he saw a puff of dust fly out of it, but he wasn't completely sure.

Justin's eye twitched. "How were you going to pay for your pizza?"

"I _swear_ I thought I had money." Alex chuckled nervously. "...I would have done the dishes or something." She added

"Well, that settles it." Beast Boy grinned, "You're stayin' with us."

"Yes, Alex, it would be glorious to have another girl around to have the girl outings at night with! I cannot wait!" Starfire squealed.

Alex looked at Robin and he nodded as if to confirm 'yes, she's serious'. Alex didn't know what to do, she thought that at this point if she denied there offer, Starfire might actually _cry._ She didn't want that. But Raven also kind of scared her. As for the rest of the team, they seemed alright. She looked over at Justin, who looked unbelievable excited for this type of situation, considering the offer wasn't even for _him_. He kept nodding his head, telling her to give it a go.

_Oh, what the hell._ She thought, _I guess I can give it a try._

"Sure." She shrugged, "Why not."

"_Yes_! New roommie!" Beast Boy exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air before looking around at the other Titan's confused faces, "Heh...not that there's anything wrong with you guys..."

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><p><em>Song: Teenagers - My Chemical Romance.<em>

_Review please! :3 I'd like to know your thoughts.  
><em>


	2. You're Ever So Inviting

_So here's chapter 3 _

_Thanks to my new Beta Reader Darth Azrael. :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.  
><em>

__

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><p><p>

**You're Ever So Inviting  
><strong>

The Titans and Alex waved Justin goodbye and headed back to Titan's Tower. Alex was interested in what this Tower looked like, but the Titan's said they needed to get some grocery shopping done first, as their refrigerator was running empty. Alex noticed whenever someone brought it up; Robin would quickly change the subject.

However, when they got to the T-Car they realized a bit of trouble. It only sat five, and there were six of them. What ever were 6 super-powered teenagers to do?

"I'll just fly home." Raven said. That might work.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble..." Alex said.

"It's kind of too late for that." Raven remarked as she took off.

Alex sighed as she watched Raven fly away, "She hates me, doesn't she?"

"Don't worry, she kind of hates everyone. Its how she gets used to you." Beast Boy said as he climbed into the backseat of the car.

"But why? I've only known her for like, 5 minutes." Alex said as she followed him in. she soon realized she was sitting in the middle between Beast Boy and Starfire.

"You'll get used to it. I've known her since we founded the Titans and I haven't made her laugh at one of my jokes yet." He said, stretching his arm across the top of the back seat.

"Meh."

Beast Boy chuckled, "Did you seriously just say, 'meh'?"

"You'll get used to it." Alex retorted. She then learned that one of Starfire's favorite pastimes was to ask questions. A lot of questions.

"What is your favorite color, Alex?" Starfire asked.

"Black." Alex answered. Starfire nodded enthusiastically.

"What is your favorite animal, Alex?"

"Hmm... eagle, I guess."

"What type of Earth music do you listen to, Alex?"

"Pretty much whatever."

"Oh, I am not familiar with that type of music. Oh, did you see that car next to us, Alex? That boy is waving at us! He is kind of cute, do you not think so?"

Alex looked over and sure enough in the next lane over there was a boy there age waving at them. Starfire giggled and waved back.

"Yeah, sure..." Alex answered, before noticing Robin in the front seat silently fuming. "I-I mean...if you're into cute boys... I mean... he's not even that cute...I just...I'm gonna be quiet now..."

Starfire looked over at Alex with a perplexed look on her face while Cyborg and Beast Boy, knowing exactly what happened, began laughing at Alex's expense, causing her to blush. Robin realized Alex must have seen him get angry over Starfire looking at another guy and turned around to give her a thank you-smile. Alex returned it with a shy smile of her own.

"Alright, kids, we're here." Cyborg announced as he pulled into a parking spot of the store.

"What's on the shopping list?" Alex asked as everyone piled out.

"Pretty much whatever we want. But no meat for me." Beast Boy answered while they walked towards the store. Both Beast Boy and Cyborg grabbed a shopping cart, causing Alex to raise a questioning brow, "We get a lot." He added with a crooked smile. Before Alex knew it, they'd walked down every isle where everyone had grabbed at least _one_ thing. It almost made her laugh. Almost.

"Oh, Alex, we almost forgot, is there anything you want? Especially if you're gonna be staying with us for a while." Cyborg added.

Alex looked in the carts and hummed. She couldn't find any fruit. Seriously? After all that shopping they didn't have any of it in the cart? It couldn't be. Five teenagers and none of them wanted _fruit_? After some rummaging around she found out, indeed, there was none in the cart. Her eye twitched.

"Well, what are you looking for?" Robin asked, confused.

"Fruit... I thought Beast Boy would at least want some, being a vegan and all." Alex answered.

"Oh."

"We can go get some. What's your favorite?" Beast boy asked.

"Apples.", she answered sticking a finger in the air, "And oranges.", she continued putting up another finger. "And grapes..", she finished putting up another finger before lowering her hand.

"Oh."

"Well... we can just get apples." She said. "Or oranges." She paused. "Or grapes."

"Why do we not get all three?" Starfire asked. "Are fruits not of the healthy variety?"

"Star has a point, guys. Let's go get 'em." Robin said, leading the way to the fruits and vegetable section, Alex practically skipping the entire way.

When they finally reached the check out line Alex couldn't help but notice people avoided being behind them. But hey, who would want to be stuck behind two filled up carts? She sure wouldn't.

"Well if it isn't the Titans!" The cashier said as he began to ring up the items. He then noticed Alex standing in the back, "Oh, and guest. Hey, I'm Larry, who might you be?" he asked with a nice smile.

"Alex." She said with a smile of her own and a wave.

"You a new Titan?" He asked as he continued to ring up the items.

"No, just like you said...I'm a guest."

"Aw, don't worry, Alex, you could be a Titan in time." Beast Boy said as he wrapped his arm around hers, giving her a squeeze, making the rest of the Titans and Larry chuckle.

After they paid for their groceries and they got bagged, Alex said, "Okay, I hate to be a downer, but are these all going to fit in the car?"

"Oh, don't worry, Raven always poof's them back home..." Beast Boys face fell as realization hit him, "And Raven's not here."

Alex suddenly felt guilty, "Sorry you guys...that's kinda my fault isn't it."

"Nah, don't worry about it. We'll make them fit." Cyborg said, patting Alex on the back. Which actually hurt. A lot. How much pain could she go through in one day?

When they reached the car the piled as much the groceries into the trunk as they possibly could, before they started to put them into the backseat. "Okay, for this to work, I think the three of you should sit back down in the back and we'll pile the groceries on you, otherwise you'll just end up squishing them. Okay?" Beast Boy, Alex, and Starfire nodded and did as they were told by Cyborg.

10 minutes later...

"Look, we did it!" Beast Boy shouted excitedly through the groceries that covered him.

"Yeah, this is a real achievement." Alex stated.

"BLEEP BLOOP!", Beast Boy shouted, "Achievement unlocked, Full cart. Worth one hundred twenty-five gamer points." Alex laughed at the reference.

"Okay, now we'll just get home then we'll get Raven's help to get it into the kitchen and unload everything. Cool? Cool." Cyborg said. And they drove away. Unbeknownst them, onlookers had been watching and laughing at them for the past 10 minutes.

When they got closer to their destination and Alex saw the Titan's Tower, though she was barely able to see over the mountain of groceries, she was struck with awe, "_Whoa._ You guys live in that?"

"Wait till you see the _inside._" Cyborg smiled.

After they finally reached the Tower, Cyborg and Robin got out of the car to look for Raven, leaving Beast Boy, Alex, and Starfire to fend for themselves in the backseat with the groceries on top of them. The three sat in what Alex thought was an awkward silence while Alex contemplated what she was even doing there. She had very little time to think over this, though, before she heard the door open and Beast Boy say, "Raven! Thank god you're here! I have to go to the bathroom _so_ bad, so could you it hurry up?"

Raven looked over the scene before her. The three teenagers each had a pile of groceries not only at their feet, but on their laps piled up to their heads so they could barely see in front of them, or even move. Alex was impressed that she didn't hear Raven laugh, though she had to admit that Raven didn't look much like the laughing type, "You've got to be kidding me." Raven said.

"No, I'm serious. I've been holding it since we got to the store—"

"That's _not_ what I meant. Hold still." Raven waved her hand in the air and muttered, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." And the groceries that had been surrounding them disappeared in a black bubble of magic. Beast Boy immediately took advantage of the situation and fled the scene to where Alex assumed the nearest bathroom was. Raven then went to the trunk of the car and repeated, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." And those groceries disappeared too.

Alex climbed out of the car after Starfire and thanked Raven for helping, who merely turned around and walked away. Alex turned towards Cyborg and said, "Yeah, she totally hates me."

"Don't worry. That really is just how she acts towards people when she first meets them." He replied.

"Oh. I feel much better."

"Well, hey, why don't we start putting the groceries away? Might as well get those done." Robin jumped in.

Alex shrugged, "Lead the way."

By the time they made it to the common room, with a few stops on the way, of course, to show Alex where a few things were, such as where the Titan's rooms were in case she had any other questions, and the gym so she could keep her skills up to par, Beast Boy and Raven had been putting most of the groceries away already.

"Need some help?" Alex asked. Raven simply looked up from what she was doing then back down. Alex held back a sigh.

"_Yes._" Beast Boy said, exasperated. "I thought you guys would have had this almost done by the time I got back, what _took _you so long?"

"We had to show Alex a couple of places so she'd know where she was." Robin answered as he began to take out some groceries and place them in the cupboard.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense... by the way, there was this mold in the fridge I had to take care of. Well, Raven _made_ me take care of it 'cause _she_ wouldn't do it, but anyway it was really gross." Robin froze in his tracks as Beast Boy continued, "It was all blue and furry, and I think it tried to _bite_ me. Can mold _do_ that? Well anyway, let's never, ever, _ever_, let the fridge get like that again. That was just plain disturbing." He finished with a shiver as Robin tried to fight back his own at the memory of the sight of the thing while he put away the last of the groceries.

"How does one grow blue furry mold?" Alex questioned curiously, brows furrowed.

"Very carefully." Raven answered.

Alex was about to retort when her stomach decided to growl very loudly, causing everyone's attention to shift to her, making her blush, embarrassed.

"Hungry?" Cyborg asked, amused.

"Well... I never got a chance to eat what with all the commotion and all..." Alex scratched her cheek nervously.

"Here, have an apple. They're one of your favorites, right?" Beast Boy tossing Alex an apple with a grin. She graciously caught it, happily taking a bite.

"So, Alex," Robin said, "Why don't you have a seat?" He motioned to the sofa adjacent to the couch facing the city. Alex complied and sat down. The next thing she knew, the five Titans stood in front of her with questioning looks.

Alex returned it with one of her own, "Uhh?..."

"So..." Robin began, "What are you doing here?"

"You...invited me here?" It was more of a question then an answer.

"No- no. I meant, what are you doing here in Jump City." He reiterated.

Alex took another bite of her apple, contemplating an answer. What _was_ she doing here? She honestly didn't have an answer, she never really did. So she decided so be honest and shrug, "I really don't know." Alex was curious when Robin looked over to Raven, even more so when she nodded for him to continue.

"Alright, How about a simpler one. Where are you from?" Robin continued.

_Okay... Why do I suddenly feel like I'm being interrogated? _Alex thought. "Why is that important?" She asked aloud

"We're just curious."

"Okay, I'm from that way." Alex said with a sigh, pointing east. Everyone raised their brows in question.

"Dude... we're in California. That doesn't narrow it down, like at all. Want to be a little less vague?" Beast Boy asked. Alex had taken yet another bite of her apple, so she simply shook her head no.

"Okay, okay. Where's your family?" Robin asked.

Alex looked away sullenly, "Dead."

"Whoa." Beast Boy said.

"What's with all these questions?" Alex demanded, interrupting him.

"We just want to get to know you better..." he replied.

"Yeah, well it feels like you're treating me like some sort of bad guy." Alex said.

"Then stop acting like one." Raven retorted, causing Alex to jump up from her seat, crushing the apple as she clenched her fists.

"Yeah?" Alex asked, "I just got here and you guys are asking me all these questions, treating me like _I'm_ the villain! I stopped that Mammoth-ape-like_-whatever_-guy, why the hell would I do that if I were _bad?_ Well, why are _you_ here? Where are _you_ from? Where are all _your _families? _huh_?"

"My home planet is Tamaran—" Starfire started but Robin clamped a hand over her mouth.

"This is ridiculous. I'm leaving." Alex stated shaking her head, walking over to the kitchen counter and placing her half finished apple on it as she looked for her pack. Sighing in frustration she added, "Has anyone seen my backpack?"

"I think you left it in the car. I'll help you go get it." Beast boy said with a sullen voice. Alex nodded and they left the common area together.

Beast Boy and Alex walked down a few halls together in an awkward silence. Beast Boy could tell that Alex was still angry, and wanted to cheer her up.

"So, look... sorry about what just happened back there..." he said, with a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck.

Alex looked over at him and sighed. She wasn't angry at Beast Boy per se, but at the whole situation itself. Why did they have to ask so many stupid questions? Why couldn't they just let her be?

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for...kind of blowing up on everyone. But really, what was with all the questions?" She really had to know.

"Well... it's just..." Beast Boy began, unsure.

"Yeah?"

He heaved a depressed sigh as they walked into the garage where the car was, "Long story short, the last time we let someone in... she betrayed us, and was working for our arch-enemy. We just don't want that to happen again."

Alex could tell by the look on Beast Boy's face that he was close to whoever it was that he was talking about. She realized the whole team must have been close to her, and that was what all the questions were about. They didn't want the same thing to happen twice. Alex felt terrible for her earlier outburst. She placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, catching him by surprise. "I'm sorry," She began, "for that, and for what I said before...it was stupid of me."

"It's okay, you didn't know." He said before grinning, a complete turn around from a few seconds before, "But, hey! Does that mean you'll stay?"

"Are you guys gonna stop asking me questions? I'm still not comfortable with that..."

"Probably not...but how about we'll stop for now?" Beast Boy gave a cheesy grin.

Alex rolled her eyes but smiled, "You know what?" She said, "Sure."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy began to fist bump Alex, while she began to high five him.

"Oh.." Then Alex tried to fist bump while he high fived.

"You know what? We'll work on that." he said, deciding it was best to shove his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." Alex said mimicking him

"Don't forget your backpack, that's the whole reason we came down here." Beast Boy reminded.

"Right...uh, where is it?" She asked, not being able to find it.

"It should be in the back seat...oh." he said, not seeing it either.

"Well, this sucks."

"Where was the last place you had it?"

"I remember it at the grocery store..." Alex said thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah, I remember it there, too. In the back seat of the car when we were loading up the groceries. But then I had to make room for more so I took it out for a second...oh. Crap."

"So what you're saying is, is that it's in the parking lot of the store?" Alex asked in annoyance.

Beast Boy began to wave his arms in front of himself defensively, "Please don't hit me, please don't hit me! It was an accident!"

"Why would I hit you?" She asked, confused.

He lowered his arms as soon as he was sure he was safe, "Well, that's what Raven usually does..."Alex laughed; that _did_ seem like something Raven would do.

"Is there anything important in there?" Beast Boy asked

"Just everything I own..." Alex sighed, defeated.

"Oh, my god," Beast Boy squeaked, "I am _so, so, so_, _so, _sorry!"

"Well, if there's any luck—" _not that I have any –"_It'll be in the lost and found at the store, so maybe we can check it later?"

"Deal!" He nodded vigorously. "Now let's go tell everyone you're not leaving!"

They made it back to the common room in no time, and before Alex knew it she could barely breathe, her back started to hurt really bad, and all she could see was a flurry of red hair.

Oh. Starfire was hugging her again.

Starfire finally let her go and squealed, "Alex! I am relieved that you are back!"

"Yeah, about that, I'm sorry about the way I acted before..." Alex said after she caught her breath.

"You don't need to worry about it," Robin began, "We were kinda out of line, too.."

"Meh, "Alex shrugged. "I'm just uncomfortable with questions."

"Why?" Raven, who finally got up from the couch, asked.

Alex looked over at Raven and tried to hide her annoyance. She really didn't feel like dealing with this. She didn't feel like dealing with _her,_ "Because I don't like thinking about the answers."

Cyborg caught the tension rising and decided to interrupt, "Hey, where's your backpack?"

"Oh, heh, that's kind of my bad..." Beast Boy said, rubbing the back of his neck again.

"It was left at the grocery store." Alex said with another defeated sigh, "We're gonna check the lost and found later."

"I hope your pack of backs is there awaiting your arrival, Alex." Starfire said in an earnest tone.

"Me too" Alex nodded sullenly.

Cyborg, wanting to cheer Alex up, smirked and walked behind her, wrapping his hands around her shoulders, "Want to see something cool?" He asked as he began to push her towards to couch

"What?" She asked back, not quite trusting the look she saw on his face.

"Just trust me—sit" he commanded as they reached the couch, and she did as she was told, still confused. He turned on the TV and turned watched the look of amazement on Alex's face.

"Holy _crap_ that's a big TV." She said in awe.

"And that's not even what I was going to show you." He smiled as he began flipping through channels; the other Titans joining them on the couch save for Raven, who went back to her room. He finally got to the one he was looking for, and waited for the commercials to end.

"What is this?" Alex asked

"Just wait." Cyborg said. "Look, here it is!"Suddenly Alex flashed onto the TV, with a quite nervous look on her face.

"_Um…I was a hostage…I'm not really a hero. My name is Alex. I can…I can walk through stuff. And I'm not a member of anything…so…"_

"_Could she be the next Teen Titan? Or is she another villain plotting against them? What are the latest plots against the Teen Titans? Coming up next on Channel 6 news, this is May Spencer..."_

"Wow..." Was all Alex could say as she stared at the TV.

"What is it?" Starfire tilted her head to the side in a questioning manner.

"Nothing, I guess...I'm just...not used to seeing myself on TV...also," she paused, turning towards the rest of the group, "Do I really sound like that?"

"You'll get used to it," Everyone laughed as Robin answered, "And you know, everyone asks that."

Alex shook her head for a moment, wrapping her head around it all, "So, like, _everyone_ knows about the Teen Titans?"

"Well, locally. We're always on the news and in magazines and get interviewed and stuff." said Beast Boy, who had taken the form of a cat and was laying on the back of the couch near Alex.

"Huh.." Alex wondered aloud.

"What?" Cyborg questioned.

"Nothing..."Alex started, before continuing, "Well, it's just, I've been like almost all around the country, and I've never heard of you before... I guess I just don't pay attention to the media..." She finished with a tired laugh and a yawn.

Robin noticed how late it was getting and stretched. "Hey, guys, I think I'm gonna head to bed." He announced.

"What, already?" Beast Boy asked, checking the time. "Yeah, we've got a big day tomorrow."

"We do?" Alex questioned, someone alarmed.

"Yeah, with training and everything. It'll be fun with someone new." Robin gave a challenging smirk. Alex just gave him an even more confused look as his smirk turned into a full blown grin, "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

"Bet you can't beat my record!" Beast Boy suddenly shouted, jumping up excitedly from his seat.

"You mean _my _record, grass stain." Cyborg said, grin in place.

"Hey, we both agreed that I was fastest."

"No, no we didn't."

"Man! This is just like on the Game Station, I totally had you beat!"

"No...no, you didn't." Cyborg said getting up and roughing up Beast Boys hair.

"Hey! Aw, come on! Stop it!" Beast Boy said, dodging out of Cyborg's reach before they started wrestling each other in front of the couch. Robin and Starfire seemed not to care and started to carry on their own conversation.

"So, Robin, you are going to your nightly rest, yes?" She questioned.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late." Robin answered.

"I think I shall join you, I too am feeling quite tired." Starfire stated while stretching. Robin caught Alex watching their conversation with a strange look on her face. What he didn't realize, however, was what she thought weird was that they were completely ignoring the fact that Beast Boy and Cyborg were fighting right in front of them.

Not catching this, Robin blushed and cleared his throat loudly, "In your _own _bed." He clarified.

Starfire gave Robin a strange look, "Of course, Robin, where else would I sleep?" Making Robin blush even deeper.

Alex couldn't hold it in any longer, so she burst out laughing. Everyone in the room froze and looked at her. Cyborg was tugging on Beast Boy's hair while Beast Boy was pushing at Cyborg's jaw, trying to push him away. Robin was still recovering from his blush, while Starfire was all around just confused.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alex laughed, "I just couldn't stop myself. Is this _normal_ for you guys?" She held a hand on her stomach, trying to quiet herself down. Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately parted.

Robin breathed a laugh, "Yeah, I guess this is pretty normal for us. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"So I keep hearing." Alex shook her head, still smiling.

"Alright, who's up for bed? I'm beat." Cyborg said.

Beast Boy huffed a sigh and ended up agreeing, "I guess..."

"I shall retrieve the pillow of fluffiness and the blanket of warmth for Alex!" Starfire exclaimed, dashing out of the room.

Alex immediately looked at the others, "So, hey, was she serious about the whole 'home planet' thing?"

"I think we should discuss that another time..." Robin replied. Beast Boy stood behind him and nodded yes. Alex brow's shot up, her inner nerd coming to life. She honestly thought it was pretty cool. It also explained Starfire's super strength and why she talked the way she did.

Starfire returned, handing Alex the blanket and pillow. "Thanks, Starfire." Alex said.

"You are most welcome!" Starfire replied eagerly as she walked out of the room, "I hope you have a good nightly rest!"

Alex smiled and called, "You too."

"'Night Alex!" Beast Boy said as he left the room

"Goodnight." Robin waved.

"G'night." Cyborg said.

"'Night, guys" Alex replied as she placed the pillow on the couch and laid her head down.

_Oh, my god this is the most comfortable couch in the world. _She thought as she pulled the blanket over herself, ready for a good night's sleep.

XXX

Slade watched the TV screens propped all along the wall of his newest lair with interest.

_My name is Alex. I can…I can walk through stuff..._ The girl on the TV screen said.

_My name is Alex. I can walk through stuff_...He had the TV repeat.

_Alex. Walk through stuff..._

"It's quite interesting that she showed up here, isn't it, Cavallo?" Slade asked. A boy in his late teens to his early twenties came out of the shadows wearing black and white checkered tights, with a giant 'S' inscribed on the left shoulder. The mask being similar to Slade's with the exception that the right side was black and the left side was white.

"Yes, it is, Master. Very interesting. Cavallo replied.

"Yes, but now she's with those _damn_ Titans." Slade said, losing his temper as he slammed his fist on the desk in front of him. "With them it'll be twice as hard for you to get what you need."

Cavallo slowly took a step back, it was rare for Slade to lose his temper, but when he did, it was bad. "Don't worry, I can handle Alex."

"You better." Slade said, the unspoken threat evident in his voice.

* * *

><p><em>So there you have it, chapter 3 is up. Please review. Like, please pleaseeee review. I really want to know what you think about it. It helps me know where I'm going with the story. Anyway, thanks for reading! :)<em>

_You're Ever So Inviting - UnderOath  
><em>


	3. Something I Call Personality

_Thanks again to my Beta, Darth Azrael. And thanks to Alienvspredator5 for reviewing :] makes me happy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans._

* * *

><p><strong>Something I Call Personality<br>**

Raven finished meditating and looked at the clock, reading 5:30 a.m. She wasn't nearly surprised she'd been in meditation so long; she knew she needed it, especially after their new arrival. Raven tried not to roll her eyes at the thought of her; she already knew they wouldn't get along.

Raven decided she'd go to the common room based on the hopes that Alex would still be sleeping. Despite what everyone thought, she did not, in fact, like being cooped up in her room all the time. And besides, she really wanted some tea. Grabbing her book, she left her room and went to the common room.

When she entered the common room she found out her hopes were dashed as she saw Alex standing a few feet away from the over-sized window that looked out into the city, just staring at the city lights. Raven noticed Alex tense up a little when she realized it was her who entered. Raven decided she wasn't going to let this ruin her time and she was going to stay. So she got her tea ready before she sat down and started reading her book.

"It's beautiful." Raven heard a whisper.

"What?" Raven asked looking up from her book, annoyed from being interrupted.

"The city, it's beautiful." Alex repeated, "I mean, right now, it is, anyway. It's so quiet and peaceful." She said as she started walking towards the kitchen table where Raven was sitting.

"Yeah. I like _quiet."_ Raven stated, returning to her book.

Alex put her hands up in surrender as she started walking backwards towards the couch, "Okay, okay, I can take a hint." At least she could say she tried.

Raven sighed as she looked back up at Alex's retreating form. "You might want to go back to sleep." She said.

Alex's brows furrowed, "I said I could take a hint..."

"That's not what I-I meant you're going to need rest." Raven tried her hardest not to sound annoyed.

"Oh, for that training thing?" Alex asked.

Alex could have sworn she saw a sparkle of amusement in Raven's eyes when she replied, "To get through breakfast."

"Oh-kay..."Alex drawled as she looked back at Raven, who already started to continue reading her book. "Thanks." She said as she went to go lay back down on the couch, "You know..." She continued, sticking a hand in the air, holding a finger up, catching Raven's attention, "You might want to try smiling every once in a while. I bet it would look nice." Raven simply rolled her eyes.

The trouble with Alex going back to sleep was, after she woke up, she couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard she tried. No matter how many different ways she tried to sleep, it wouldn't work, ever since she was a kid. First, she tried to sleep on her back, then her right side, then her left. She even tried sleeping with her feet on the pillow.

Alex huffed loudly and walked over to the chair adjacent to the couch, bringing her blanket with her; maybe that would work. Raven watched her with a raised brow, having heard all the commotion in the first place.

**Half an hour later...**

"Is she seriously sleeping like that?..." Robin asked Raven as he took a sip of his coffee.

"I guess so." Raven answered, hiding her amusement.

"Why? She has the whole couch..."

"You'd have to ask her that."

**An hour and a half later...**

"Mornin' guys!" Beast Boy shouted.

"I must urge you to be quiet!" Starfire hushed Beast Boy, "Alex is still in slumber!"

"Wow, seriously? She must be a deep sleeper then." Beast Boy responded.

"Nah, we're all just trying to be quiet. Today's a big day after all." Cyborg answered.

"Dude, where is she?" Beast Boy asked, looking at the couch and seeing an empty pillow.

"Notice the giant lump on the chair?" Cyborg asked with a grin on his face, almost laughing. Beast Boy looked over and saw a blanket covering something with a shoe poking out over the side of the armrest.

"Dude... are you _serious?_" Beast Boy asked, trying not to laugh. "I mean, she had the whole couch!"

Suddenly, Beast Boy's eyes narrowed and he smiled. Cyborg could have sworn he could see horns sticking out of his head. Giggling like a schoolgirl, he tip-toed over to the chair, yanked the blanket off and quickly transformed into a rooster and crowed before shouting, "Morning, sleepyhead!", as Alex screamed and fell off the chair. The whole group, except for Raven, started laughing

"Hey, that's not funny!" Alex yelled.

"Oh, it is!" Cyborg laughed, "And hey, if I had to wake up to that face I might have the same reaction!" he continued laughing.

"Yeah, well judging by the way you two act around each other sometimes, I'd say it's already happened at least once." Alex retorted as she picked herself up. Robin started laughing harder while Raven's brow's shot up in surprise. Cyborg instantly stopped laughing while Starfire looked around confused.

"I do not understand..." Starfire looked around at, confused

Alex also looked around and realized what she just said, "Wow, I'm sorry. It was just a joke..."

"Nah, don't worry about it. You're just not a morning person, are you?" Cyborg asked with a smile.

"No, well being laughed at right when I wake up doesn't really help either." Alex laughed.

"Yeah I know what you mean." Beast Boy chimed in, glaring at everyone, and everyone just laughed.

"Who's up for some breakfast?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah! Tofu!" Beast Boy said, zooming to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot" Alex mumbled idly as she followed the rest of the Titans.

"You realize that means he's going to make you try tofu today, right?" Robin smirked as he sat down at the table.

Alex gave a half disgusted look, "Really?"

"Yeah. But don't worry, Cyborg makes a mean bacon and eggs."

"Cool."

After 30 minutes of discussing this and that of nothing or other, and Beast Boy and Cyborg arguing over whether meat or tofu was better, breakfast was ready.

"Alright, who wants bacon and eggs?" Cyborg asked with a smile as he handed out the plates.

"Wait!" Beast Boy yelled with a fork in the air before pointing it at Alex, "Alex has to try my tofu first."

"Uh..." She began, "Would you believe me if I said I was allergic? Heh..."

Beast Boy stared at her blankly before saying handing her a plate with some tofu on it and saying, "Just try it, I know you'll like it! Don't make me bust out 'The Face'. No one can resist the face."

Alex stared at the plate in front of her, completely aware that all eyes were on her. She slowly picked up her fork and picked at the tofu before picking some up and putting it in her mouth, chewing it slowly. It was completely tasteless, almost like chewing on water. She finally swallowed. "It's weird.." Was her verdict. She saw the glimmer of sadness in Beast Boys eyes and continued, "I—in a good way, I mean."

"Yes! Told you she'd like it!" Beast Boy practically shouted in Cyborg's face.

"Not as much as she's gonna like this..." He responded as he set the plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. Alex tried not to drool; it just looked and smelled so good. She tried to eat courteously, but she was just so hungry from only having one bite of pizza and a half of an apple from last night. Cyborg laughed, "I'm guessing she likes it."

Alex blushed, "Yeah, its good." She said as she finished the eggs and moved on to the bacon. The rest of the team started eating their breakfast and began conversations about what the day had in store for them.

After breakfast they went to the roof where they had some sort of training course that Robin and the others had explained to Alex. Alex thought they had been exaggerating about it, but apparently not. As Cyborg pressed a few buttons on a console in front of them, the course emerged.

First, it had two rows of laser guns facing each other, which Alex assumed you had to run down, next they had two spinning blades coming up from the ground, and to top it all of they had a circle of fire at the end. Alex was over all impressed.

"You ready?" Robin asked.

"What, you want me to go first?" Alex thought she'd at least get the chance to see someone else go first.

"Yeah, think you can handle it?" He smirked.

Alex rolled her eyes at his challenge, "Yeah. Let's give it a go." She walked over to the start and looked over at the other Titans who urged her forward, before looking back at the course with determination.

"Wait!" Beast Boy called, "Don't you wanna take off your jacket?"

Alex looked down at what she was wearing, a black jacket and blue jeans, "What's wrong with my jacket?" she asked, hurt.

"Nothing, you'll just, you know...get hot...and it's loose...it's just easier without it, is all." Beast Boy replied.

Alex looked back down at her jacket again, this time at her right arm, placing her hand on it with a sullen look on her face, "I'm fine."

Best Boy shrugged and said, "Alright..."

Alex smiled, "Really, I like my jacket, it's, you know, _me._" She finished with a laugh and turned back to face the course with her look of determination.

"Go!" She heard Robin yell, and she was off. The guns started shooting lasers at her, but they weren't a problem. As soon as the lasers got near her, she just let them phase _through_ her, hitting the guns on the other sides, destroying them. She did that until she reached the big spinning blades, but once she reached them, she realized that they were protruding from a giant hole in the ground, making it impossible to just walk through. She'd have to jump.

Walking a few feet back, Alex did a running jump and phased through the spinning blades, rolling landed on the other side. As she reached the other side, however, she came across a surprise; there was a laser gun that followed her wherever she went hovering just out of her reach and two more laser guns on the ground. Jumping off of one of the laser guns on the ground, Alex phased her hand into the hovering laser gun and pulled out some of its circuits, causing it to crash into the ground with a small explosion. She took care of the next two laser guns the same way.

Next up was the circle of fire. Alex looked around incredulously to see if that was it. Shrugging, she took a few steps back and did a running leap through the circle of fire and with a rolling landing. She then met up with the rest of the Titans, "So, how'd I do?"

"I…think we're going to need a new course again..." Robin muttered.

"Oh...um...sorry." Was all Alex could say as she looked back at the heap of broken laser guns.

"You did great!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "But hey can I ask you something? Why didn't you just _walk_ through the fire?"

"Oh...uh, well, honestly, I dunno if I can." Alex replied with a shrug. At the curious look she got back she continued, "Fire isn't really... _solid._ As far as I know, I can only go through solid stuff. So that's pretty much it. I just don't want to burn myself I guess." She finished, rubbing the back of her neck with a laugh.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense..." Beast Boy nodded.

"So, is this it?" Alex asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, we've still got sparring." Robin replied.

"Right. Of course we do."

"Don't worry, it's actually pretty fun." Cyborg said, wrapping his arm around Alex's shoulders to lead the way to the sparring room.

As they reached the sparring room, Alex realized the room was made for _exactly _that: sparring. The entire floor was covered in a blue mat, similar to the walls. The walls were also adorned with sparring staves and other combat weapons of the like. Again, Alex was impressed.

"Cool." She said.

"I know, right?" Beast Boy smiled.

"Alright, let's get into teams...Beast Boy with Cy, and Star, the two of us will spar" He ordered before turning to Alex, "And Alex, considering the way I saw you fight with Mammoth yesterday I think your fighting style would be best improved with Raven." Robin finished.

_Of course it would. _Alex bit back from saying. She looked over at Raven, who actually looked like she was going to protest, but thought better of it. Cyborg and Beast Boy went to there own space and started sparring, and before long Robin and Starfire went to their own space too.

"Oh, by the way," Robin called back, "No powers."

"Wha-?" But Alex didn't have the chance to finish as Raven threw a punch right at her, barely having any chance to dodge it, "Hey, I wasn't-!" Another punch thrown towards her, causing her to do a back handspring.

_Fine, you wanna play rough? Let's play rough._

Alex regained her balance and aimed a kick for Raven's side, but Raven easily blocked it. Raven then tried to punch Alex's jugular, but Alex knocked Raven's arm out of the way and threw a punch at Raven's jaw. Raven quickly regained her balance and dug her heel into Alex's thigh, causing Alex to hiss in pain. After more and more dodges and blocks, with very few hits, the other Titans decided to watch the match.

Alex did a spinning kick and expected to connect it with Raven's side, what surprised her however, was that Raven caught her foot, keeping her in place. Alex looked up at Raven in surprise as Raven actually smirked. In any normal situation, she would have simply phased her foot through and continued the match. However, Robin made it clear that no powers were to be used.

Alex jumped up, kicking her other foot in the air and dug her heel into Raven's jaw, causing her to let go of Alex's foot and fall backwards. Alex gasped and looked down at Raven in surprise as she ran over by her side, checking on her, "Oh, my god! Are you okay? I didn't think that would—!" She was cut off as Raven jumped back up and tackled her to the ground, holding both her hands above her head. Alex looked at Raven, very confused. Was Raven actually _smiling_?

Alex suddenly began laughing, which in turn confused the smile off of Raven's face. Didn't Raven just win? Raven knew that's why she was smiling. It didn't matter to Alex, though, because she kept laughing, "You know," She said, low enough so the other Titans couldn't hear her, "I was right. Your smile _is _nice. I might even go as far as to say it's pretty."

Raven was glad her face was still flushed from the fight, because she was pretty sure she was blushing.

What? She didn't get compliments very much, okay?

She quickly got off of Alex, and helped her to her feet. The other Titans found there way over, "You were right. That was fun." Alex said, still smiling, looking over at Raven, who suddenly found the wall very interesting.

"Didn't I tell you? But now it's free time! Yeah!" Beast Boy yelled pumping his fist into the air, "What do you want to do?"

"Actually... I was kind of hoping to find my backpack?"

"Oh, right. How could I forget? Heh. Let's go! I'll drive!" Beast Boy said, making his way out the door before Cyborg caught him by his collar.

"Oh, no ya don't. _My _baby. _I_ Drive. _You_ can come along if you want." Cyborg chided.

Beast Boy whined like a puppy, "Fine..."

"Great. I hope it's there.."

"I do as well! I sincerely hope you retrieve that which is lost, Alex!" Starfire nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks, Starfire." Alex said, and with that the two Titans and guest went off to the store to find that which was lost.

"A lost and found? Uhhh... not really." Larry said, but noticed Alex's face fall and asked, "What exactly are you looking for?"

"A brown backpack...it's kind of beat up. It's says Becca and Alex friends for life on it in, and it has a Spongebob keychain." Alex numbered off the details on her fingers.

"Oh! That? I found it in the parking lot last night, and kept it in the back. Let me go get it for you." Larry finished with a smile.

Alex gave off a sigh of relief as she heard the news, until she saw the look that Cyborg and Beast Boy were giving her, "What?"

"Spongebob? Seriously?" Cyborg asked.

"What?" She repeated as Beast Boy chuckled, "You know he's awesome."

Alex could barely contain her excitement as Larry came up carrying her backpack. Alex zoomed over the rest of the way and practically stole the bag from his hands, hugging it to her chest before bringing it to her face and taking in the scent of her beloved backpack, "Ah," she said, "Home."

"Ahem." Cyborg cleared his throat, trying not to laugh.

"Don't judge me." Alex glared, putting the backpack on.

"We're not judging." Beast Boy smirked.

"Whatever, let's just get back to the Tower." Alex smiled, just happy to have her bag back.

"Alex! I am glad you have found your pack! Does it possess all of your belongings?" Starfire asked as soon as the three returned from their short journey.

"Actually, I don't even know... I was so excited I forgot to check." Alex felt like face-palming. What would be the point if all her stuff wasn't in it anyway? She immediately sat down on the couch and started digging through the backpack.

"Why don't you just dump it all out?" Beast Boy asked as he sat next to her.

"Some of its private." Alex answered as she continued to dig. So far, so good. Everything looked like it was there.

"You sure are a private person..."

"Well, sorry if I don't want my underwear out gallivanting for everyone to see." Alex replied, distracted.

Beast Boy blushed, "Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that, sorry..."

Alex finished looking through her bag. Yep, everything was there. She sighed in relief, and then remembered Beast Boy was there. "Huh? Oh, yeah." She smiled, "Don't worry about it."

"So is everything there?" Cyborg asked as he sat down on the other side of Beast Boy.

"Yep." Alex smiled, holding up her mp3 player, "Got my music, I'm good to go."

"Cool, cool. I'm glad. You wanna play some Game Station?" He asked with a sly smile.

"You know what, why don't you two play and I'll watch? It's been forever since I've played anyway. I'll be right back." Alex said, getting off the couch and heading to the table where Robin, Starfire and Raven sat.

Alex found Raven reading her book again, "Hey Raven, sorry to interrupt..." she started, and Raven looked up from her book, obviously quite surprised that someone actually did interrupt her. Alex suddenly became very aware of Robin and Starfire's eyes on them, "Thanks for your advice this morning. It helped."

Raven had trouble remembering what she was talking about until it hit her; Raven had told her to get some rest that morning. "You're welcome." She nodded once

Alex nodded in turn, retreating back to the couch before she turned back around, "Oh! And don't forget," Alex said with a smile as she wagged her finger towards Raven, "You might want to take my advice too."

_That,_ Raven had no trouble remembering. She hid her face in her book, covering an oncoming blush.

"What was _that_ about?" Robin asked, with a quirked brow.

"Nothing." Raven answered, still behind her book.

"Ooookay..."Robin said, unbelieving.

Raven got up from her chair, pulling her cloak over her head along the way as she went back to her room. Beast Boy had gotten up from the couch to get a soda and witnessed the scene, "Typical Raven." He shrugged as Robin and Starfire gave each other questioning looks.

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><p><em>Wewt, chapter 4 done. I'm going to try and update a chapter every week. Review please!<em>

_Something I Call Personality - New Found Glory  
><em>


	4. Creep

_Thanks as always to Darth Azrael for being my beta reader :) and also thanks to my reviewers, Alienvspredator5, DotA Lover, and Howcaniforgetyou! :D _

_Also, I decided to name chapters after songs now, so I went back and renamed all the chapters and from here on out I'll be doing that. So if you want and you don't mind listening to all types of music you can listen to them, at the end of every chapter I'll be listing the name of the band/artist._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans._

* * *

><p><strong>Creep<strong>

A few days had passed since Alex's first day and so far everything had been great. Even apparently all the villains had decided to take a break, as there was no trouble in the city that had to be dealt with by the Titans. That being said, the Titans were rather bored.

Happy, but bored.

Beast Boy decided to take the time to try and teach Starfire how to play video games, much to Alex's amusement as she sat on the chair adjacent to them and watched. Cyborg was using his time in the garage tuning up the T-car and giving it the adjustments he said it needed, while Raven and Robin sat at the kitchen table playing chess. Little did they know that Alex was peeking over at their game from her seat in curiosity.

Robin stared at the chess board, rubbing his chin in thought. It was actually a very bad idea to play chess with her. Being an empath, Raven could pick up on peoples thoughts, and though she said she wasn't using her power, Raven had already taken most of his pieces, and was ready to move in for the kill.

"Planning on moving any time soon?" Raven asked with a hint of amusement hidden in her voice. Robin knew she was patient enough, and that she was just messing with him.

"Fine," Robin glowered mockingly, grabbing his rook.

"Wait!" Alex called before jumping up from her seat, grabbing everyone's attention. She cleared her throat; "Uh, you can go back to your game..." she waved to Beast Boy and Starfire as she awkwardly walked over to the kitchen table. "I noticed you playing..."

"Yeah?..." Robin asked, clearly confused.

"You're about to lose." Alex said flatly, pointing at the chess board. "If you move that rook where I think you're about to."

"Huh?" Robin looked back down at the board and studied it, but not being able to see what she was talking about he looked back up at her in confusion.

"It took me _forever_ to realize what she was doing, but I've seen it before. You've practically been falling for every trap she's been setting up." Alex chuckled, only to be met by the shocked look of the ones sitting before her, "My brother played chess," she explained with a shrug, "I used to watch."

"She has?" Robin asked looking in between the board, Raven, and Alex. Raven kept her mouth shut and waited for the scene before her to play out, intrigued. "What should I do then?"

Alex hummed as she looked at the chess board. "Use your queen to kill Raven's bishop there." She said pointing.

"But she's protecting my king." Robin argued.

"It should be fine; you've got your knight and rook right there..." Alex said as she continued to stare at the board. Robin did as Alex suggested, and it was Raven's turn. Raven studied the board, noticing that Alex was watching her closely as she made her move. As Robin's turn came back up, Alex took a seat next to him. Both Robin and Raven's brow's rose in disbelief as she cupped a hand around his ear as she began whispering to him. Alex suddenly turned towards Raven, "Oh, you don't mind if I try and help him, do you?"

"It's fine." Raven replied. She really didn't mind; if anything, she thought the way Alex was acting was rather childish. Whispering into Robins ear like that. Why couldn't she just let Raven hear her too? Although, Raven was impressed with the way Alex caught on to the way she was playing. But she'd never admit _that_ to anyone.

"Good." Alex smiled before turning back to Robin, who was still rather perplexed at the whole situation, but just decided to go along with it.

20 minutes later the game was at a standstill. Both sides had their kings and queens left. During the 20 minutes, Raven noticed that Alex kept her eyes on the board the whole time except when it was Raven's turn, then she'd put all of her attention on Raven, like she was waiting for some sort of reaction. Then when it was their turn, Alex would whisper something into Robin's ear, and sometimes he would whisper something back.

"Let's call it a draw?" Robin asked after studying the board for at least 5 minutes.

"Yeah." Raven nodded in agreement.

"Wow, that was awesome! Great game!" Alex said excitedly as she got up and stretched.

"Yeah that was pretty cool, I've never been so close to beating Raven. Thanks for your help, Alex." Robin said.

"Really?" She asked, before waving a dismissive hand and turning to Raven, "You're really good." Raven nodded her thanks.

"You two should play together sometime, it would be interesting to see who wins." Robin said. Raven was about to protest when a loud blaring siren coupled with red blinking lights went off.

"Dear _god,_ what is that?" Alex asked, looking around for the source.

"Trouble." Robin replied.

XXX

Alex learned that the alarm went off whenever a villain was committing some sort of crime, and it told them where and whomever was doing the crime. In this case, it was someone named Control Freak. So the Titans had convinced Alex to help them arrest him (only by assuring her that he was very simple minded and amusing).

However, before Robin could hop onto his motorcycle, Raven stopped him.

"You weren't serious about Alex and I playing chess, were you?" She asked.

"Of course I was. You need to get to know her, Raven." Robin replied, earnestly. Robin and Raven had been close friends for a long time and he liked to look out for her, but he knew she could be stubborn.

"She's only been here for a few days."

"She could be here for a lot longer than that, you know it, I know it, so stop acting like she's another…another Terra." And there was something in his eyes that Raven couldn't exactly read as got onto his motorcycle and put his helmet on and drove off. Raven huffed a sigh and got in the front seat of the T-car while Alex silently vowed to one day not be in the middle of the backseat.

On their way to their destination, they couldn't help but realize inanimate objects were suddenly...animated.

"Um...was that street light...alive?" Alex asked, perplexed as said street lamp terrorized a few city people. She was certain that things like that weren't supposed to happen.

"Looks like Robins got it taken care of." Cyborg noted as Robin jumped from his bike, tackling the street light to the ground.

The car pulled to a stop and everyone piled out to see an overweight man with long red hair holding some sort of controller in front of an ATM that also looked like it popped out of a cartoon spitting out money.

"What's he going to go, throw his remote at us?" Alex asked, unimpressed.

After Robin caught up the man finally realized the Titan's presence and turned around, "Ah, if it isn't my favorite foes!" he announced before looking directly at Alex, "And you! It's so cool to finally meet you face to face—you know I have a poster of you on my wall?—anyway, I am _Control Freak!_" He said dramatically thrusting his Controller into the air. It would have been much more dramatic if thunder or lightning had gone off.

"That's...creepy..."Alex muttered, as the Titans all stifled their laughter.

"No, really! I've read all about you—even though you haven't really said much—and your power. You have the incredible ability of intangibility!" Control Freak exclaimed before he continued to babble on.

"Someone has a crush on Alex..." Beast Boy sing-songed.

"Shut _up._" Alex forced through a clenched jaw, before rolling her eyes and relaxing, "Is this all he does? Rants?"

"For like the first five minutes, yeah. It's actually kind of entertaining. It's even better now that he's picking on you though." Beast Boy laughed.

"You! Why are you ignoring me? I have a lot of important stuff to say!" Control Freak whined. "This oughta teach you a lesson!" he said as he pointed his controller at Beast Boy and pressed a button. "There! Try and say something now!"

"What'd he do?" Cyborg asked.

"I dunno," Alex shrugged, "Beast Boy, you okay?"

Beast Boy shrugged as well and tried to say something, but though his mouth moved, nothing came out. Furrowing his brows, he tried again. No words came out. Beast Boy began to freak out, pointing at his mouth.

"Oh, my god, I think he muted him!" Alex exclaimed, before hearing a quiet, "Finally." from Raven, "Is that possible?"

"I guess anything is possible." Robin answered with a shrug of his own, "We better get that remote back.

"Do we have to? We should have thought of this years ago." Raven said. Beast Boy glared at her and waved his arms, trying and yell at her, but again no words came out. "Music to my ears."

Beast Boy glared daggers at Raven, and then Control Freak, who wore a smirk before he saw the way Beast Boy was looking at him. Control Freak cleared his throat, "Minions, attack!" and suddenly an onslaught of electronics came there way.

"Titans, go!" Robin said and the Titans were off.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven exclaimed and tore a street lamp in two.

"'Ey! 'Ey! Ow!" Stop it!" Alex yelled out as she threw up her arms defensively at the ATM as it continued to spit money at her. As the dollar bills whipped passed her she could feel the deep paper cuts on her face and hands, so finally she just let her power take over and let them fly through her. She walked up to the ATM angrily and reached into its circuits, pulling them out. Soon after it made a whirring sound before it finally died and stopped spitting out the money.

Beast Boy morphed into a rhinoceros and chased after Control Freak, who ran away screaming like a girl, while Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin fought off their own miscellaneous foes.

Raven looked down from her fight with the street lamp and noticed Alex bleeding and flew down to her, "Are you alright?"

"I just got owned by an ATM, how do you think I am?" Alex retorted, wiping the blood from her face on the sleeve of her jacket before realizing it was torn, "Dammit! I just got this jacket, too!"

Raven rolled her eyes; she was only trying to help. She started running towards the fight before she heard Alex again,

"Wait," This time Alex sounded more defeated than she meant to, "I'm fine... I'm sorry; I'm just not used to this kind of stuff. And paper cuts suck, you know?" she tried to laugh but it just didn't come out right.

Sighing, Raven walked back over to Alex, "Come here, I can heal them for you."

"Wow, you can heal, too?" Alex asked surprised as Raven gently placed her hands over the cuts on Alex's. "Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Alex half laughed as she watched the cuts disappear in amazement.

"I don't sew. That's more Robin's thing." Raven said, referencing to Alex's torn jacket as she moved on to the cuts on her face.

Alex's face lit up in amusement, "Are you _serious?_ Robin _sews_?" Alex asked not being able to hold back her laughter.

"Hold still." Raven commanded, delicately holding Alex's face in place causing Alex's laughter to die down, though Raven gave a small smile of her own. "We all get tears in our clothes from fighting; it's not a big deal. Robin saves us from buying a _lot_ of new clothes—hold on, this one's pretty deep." Raven said as her hand lingered over Alex's cheek.

Alex stared at Raven's smile as she healed the last cut. There was something about the way Raven smiled, that Alex just wanted to see it more often. "I really wish you'd smile more." Alex said, looking into Raven's eyes.

Raven froze in place as she tried to analyze what Alex just said. After she realized that yes, Alex, did indeed, just say what she thought she said, Raven looked up into Alex's eyes. Alex suddenly became nervous at their close proximity and looked to the side, unable to hold eye contact she rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I mean, you know..."

Raven released Alex from her grip and pulled her hood over her head, turning her head away trying to hide from an oncoming blush.

XXX

Beast Boy continued to chase Control freak in his rhinoceros form, wailing his head about trying to make whatever sound rhinoceros' make, but of course no sound came out. Control freak screeched and kept running as fast as his stubby legs could carry his bulky form, but alas, they failed him and carried him to a dead end. He cowered in the corner and in a last ditch effort threw the controller as hard as he could, "Go! ...Fetch the controller! Just don't hurt me." He looked up at Beast Boy pleadingly who just huffed through his nostrils. "_Please_?" Control Freak asked as he cowered even further into a ball. Beast Boy used it as an opportunity to run into him, thrusting his horn into Control Freak's rear and launching him into the air screaming, landing right in front of Robin, Cyborg and Starfire.

XXX

"So anyway..."Alex continued awkwardly walking away, "Thanks for the help."

As soon as Raven composed herself she turned around and nodded, before realizing that something was falling from the sky and was headed straight for Alex, "Watch—!"

Too late. Whatever it was hit Alex square on the head, causing Alex to yelp in pain. "Ow! That freakin' hurt!" She called out, rubbing her head, looking for the offending item. "Hey, look. It's Control Freak's remote thing." She said to Raven while still rubbing the sore spot on her head.

Beast Boy came rushing over and grabbed the controller from Alex's hands, making Alex whine in response. Beast Boy just glared at her before staring at the controller and its many buttons. After a few moments of staring blankly at it he did what Alex assumed was a sigh and hunched his shoulders forward, handing the controller back to Alex.

"What am _I_ supposed to do with it?" Alex asked. Beast Boy furrowed his brows and pointed at his mouth exaggeratedly while he tried to talk. The only word Alex got out of it, being that she wasn't very good at reading lips, was 'mute'. "Oh, you want me to find the mute button and try to un-mute you?" Beast Boy nodded. Alex shrugged, "Sounds easy enough."

"Do we have to? I kind of like him like this" Raven commented from the side, causing Alex to smirk. Beast Boy started stomping up and down trying to scream but no words came out.

"Now, let's see..." Alex mumbled as she combed through the rows of buttons. Really, there was an impossible amount of buttons on the thing. After she'd gotten all the way to the bottom, she still didn't see it. "Huh." She said. "I can't find it."

"I guess I'll help." Raven said with a sigh, standing beside Alex. She knew she'd regret this. Alex moved the controller over so the two could see it easier. Raven raked her eyes over the device, "What about volume?" she asked, pointing.

"Oh. _Duh."_ Alex said slapping her forehead. She took the controller back and pushed up on the 'volume' button once.

"—Happen to _me_?" Beast boy asked exaggeratedly before he realized he could hear his own voice again. "Wahoo! It worked!" he yelled and group hugged Alex and Raven.

"Get off me." Raven warned, her eyes glowing white. Beast Boy quickly did as he was told. "I think he's louder than he was before, let me see that." Raven said reaching for the controller.

"Nope, don't think so", Alex laughed, moving it out of Raven's reach much to Raven's dismay. "He's fine. Besides, Control Freak only pressed the button once. So it only makes sense that we press it once."

"You noticed that?" Beast Boy asked.

"It's the little things that count." Alex replied with a smirk.

"I think it's about time we go help the others now." Raven said as she started off towards the other Titans.

"Wait, I've got an idea..." Alex said as she pointed the controller at the Titans and the electronic devices they were fighting. They'd already taken care of Control Freak, and he was off to the side in hand cuffs complaining about how unfair everything was. "Guys!" she called out, "Get out of the way for a second!" The Titans looked confused but did as they were told, and the devices started their way towards Alex and the two Titans. "Power—_off."_ Alex said as she pressed the 'off' button on the controller. She grinned as all the devices fell to the ground harmlessly, inanimate again.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Raven said, unable to hold back her surprise.

Alex barked out a bit of laughter, "_Hah!_ I know, right? That was too easy."

Robin, Cyborg and Starfire ran up to the three, "Good job, Alex." Robin nodded

"Did you repair Beast Boy's voice as well?" Starfire asked.

"Yep. My voice is back to its same old self." Beast Boy announced, grinning from ear to ear.

"We can still fix that, you know." Raven deadpanned.

"Hahah," Beast Boy mock laughed. "I still wonder why this kind of crap always happens to me..."

Cyborg shrugged, "Guess you're just that lucky, man."

"Whatever," Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "Let's just go home."

On the way home, Alex kept staring at the controller, somewhat memorized. She really wanted to know what all the buttons did. However, she was fairly certain that if she pressed any buttons, something bad would happen and she would get in trouble. Beast boy noticed her studying the controller and thought nothing good would come of it, "Hey, Alex, want me to hold the controller?" He asked, reaching for it.

"Huh? No, I've got it." Alex said as she leaned over Starfire, out of Beast Boy's reach.

"Pff. Remote hog." Beast Boy huffed with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No you." Alex replied, returning to her right position. She looked up as everyone in the car save Raven started laughing. "What?"

"Where do you get your comebacks?" Beast Boy asked still laughing, "Some lame comeback store?" The laughter stopped.

"At least mine made everyone laugh." Alex retorted with a crooked grin.

"Nuh-uh! Not Raven..."

"Well...I've never even heard her laugh. So she doesn't count." Alex said as Raven turned around and looked at Alex, "Sorry Raven..." Alex apologized with a shrug, and Raven shrugged in turn. Alex assumed that was some sort of 'that's okay'.

When they made it back to the Tower, Robin decided to show Alex the room where they kept all the devices from their foes. Alex stared around the room in amazement, "Wow, you guys kept all these?"

"Yeah. I study them for future encounters with our enemies. It helps a lot." Robin said, reaching out for Alex to hand him the controller. Alex sighed sullenly and handed it over—it was just so _cool—_and watched as Robin placed it on its mantel. A protective glass half-circle then covered it.

"So that's it?" Alex asked.

"Actually, there's something I want your opinion on." Robin said, leading her out of the room. The next thing Alex knew she was being led by the Titans into a room with a giant monitor. "Cy, can you bring it up?"

"Sure." Cyborg answered, typing a few words onto the keyboard. Suddenly the screen flashed on to what Alex was assumed was a security tape video. Robin and a man dressed in black and white checkered tights with an 'S' shaped mask were fighting while the rest of the Titans were fighting some sort of robots with black and tan 'S' shaped masks.

"Who's he?" Alex asked, motioning towards the screen.

"He goes by 'Cavallo'." Robin answered. "It means—"

"Knight." Alex interrupted, "Yeah. I know."

"I _hate_ this guy." Cyborg muttered under his breath.

"How's your shield coming along?" Robin asked.

"I'm just about done. The only way to know if it works for sure though is out in the field..."

"Alright. That's good enough for now." Robin said, turning to Alex "You notice anything about him?" he asked, waiting for her to answer. When she came up with nothing, he went ahead and answered for her. "He fights like you. When you and Raven were sparring I noticed it looked familiar, and it just clicked for me earlier. Does he look familiar to you?"

"He's wearing a mask..." Alex began to answer, but noticed how serious Robin and the rest of the team were. "No, I don't. There are probably plenty of people who have the same fighting style."

"Who trained you?" The questions continued.

"A girl from my home town. Like I said, plenty of people have the same fighting style. I've probably never met this _Cavallo _in my life." Alex answered, getting annoyed.

"Alright, sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate anything." Robin said, holding his hands up in the air defensively. "Why don't we all go watch TV or something?"

"Sure." Alex answered, walking out of the room with the rest of the Titans. "Sounds good to me."

"Wait," Robin said, grabbing Raven by the shoulder, holding her back, "Why don't you play chess with Alex now?"

"You actually _meant_ that?" Raven asked.

Robin rolled his eyes, "Of course I did. Besides, I think she could be a real challenge for you." He trailed off as he started walking down the hall. "Especially since you've been reading up on chess." He called over his shoulder, "And don't pretend you haven't. Come on, Raven, it could be good for you..."

"You don't know that." Raven called after him, before she finally began following him to the common room.

Raven walked into the common room and spotted Alex at the kitchen table putting the chess board away; no doubt the works of Robin. Raven rolled her eyes and walked up to Alex. Alex didn't really notice her at first and kept tossing the chess pieces into the box, while Raven just stood there expectantly. Was she really going to have to ask? Raven cleared her throat, causing Alex to start.

"Oh, hey Raven, you kinda scared me..." Alex said with a nervous laugh. She waited for Raven to say something, but Raven just continued to look at her expectantly so Alex continued, "I was just putting the board away, so..." She trailed off before realization hit her, "Oh! Did you want to play chess?"

"Sure." Raven nodded, sitting where she was earlier from her game with Robin.

"With _me_?" Alex asked, unbelieving. Again, Raven nodded. Alex immediately sat down and smiled excitedly, getting the chess board back out, "Which color do you want to be?"

"Black." Raven said. Alex handed her all the pieces she needed and they started setting up the game.

After the game started, Raven couldn't help but notice Alex staring at her intensely when it was her turn. Raven found it very distracting. When Alex's turn came, she'd study the board intently before making her own move. This went on for a while in silence.

"I bet you'd be good at poker." Alex blurted out, breaking the silence. Raven looked up, confused. "I mean, you've barely given away anything. I don't know how many traps I've walked into by now... I only recognized a few of the ones you set up that I could have countered." She continued, before thinking that she must look like an idiot and looking down at the chess board, embarrassed.

Raven continued to look at Alex, mildly confused. Was that why Alex kept looking at her when it was her turn? She was trying to read her?

_Interesting..._ thought Raven. "Four." She said. "You've missed four."

"Oh." Was all Alex said, still looking down at the board.

"How long have you been playing chess?" Raven found herself asking.

Alex looked back up, surprised by the question, "Well, to be honest, the only other time I've ever played was with my mom when I was like, ten." Alex laughed, "And I'm pretty sure she let me win."

"How do you know so much about the game, then?" Raven asked.

"Well, like I said. I used to watch my brother play a lot. He was in some sort of chess club when I was little, I had to stay and watch him after school because my dad wouldn't let me walk home from school alone until I joined martial arts and learned to 'defend myself'" Alex rolled her eyes with a smile as she enjoyed the memory. "Anyway, my brother was pretty good at chess; to be honest; he was the best. Well—" Alex started but cut herself off, not sure she wanted to continue.

"What?" Raven asked as she moved her queen. "Check."

Alex sighed as she moved her king, "One time someone actually beat him and my brother got really pissed off. Like, over the top pissed off. Maybe I should tell you that my brother was a really sore loser...anyway, a few days later, the kid that beat him ended up in the hospital... no one proved that it was my brother...but I knew it was him." Alex said, rolling a pawn between her thumb and index finger, "After that, no one was brave enough actually try and win against him."

Raven raised a brow in question, "Was your brother really capable of doing that?"

"He was capable of a lot of things." Alex replied softly, idly rubbing her right arm.

Raven looked over Alex and realized that this discussion was having its toll on her, and decided it was enough. She looked down at the chess board and noticed that when Alex moved her king, she inadvertently gave Raven the advantage. Raven moved her queen once more. "Check mate." She called.

"What?" Alex asked, apparently pulled out of whatever she was in. she looked down at the board and realized that her king was, indeed, trapped. "Aww..." She said before looking back up at Raven and smiling and holding out her hand, "Good game, Raven. I had fun."

Raven got over her moment of puzzlement and extended her hand, shaking Alex's, "Me too." She said, surprised by the honesty in the statement. Alex retracted her hand and suddenly began laughing. Raven looked at her incredulously, "What's so funny?"

"I honestly don't know," Alex chuckled with a shrug. "But, what's wrong with it? Really, you should try it some time." She finished with a crooked grin.

Raven just rolled her eyes as she began putting the pieces away. If anything, she was just _more_ determined to not laugh or smile in front of her. Alex began to help her put the pieces away, "But really, Raven. That was fun. Thanks for that." She said as she caught Ravens eyes and Raven saw the sincerity in them.

"You're welcome. I can teach you how to play, if you want. Weekly games." The words flew out of Raven's mouth before she could stop them.

"Really?" Alex asked, a smile growing. "You mean it? Oh, but what should I do to return the favor?..." She contemplated. Raven was about to interrupt when she continued, "Oh! I know, I can teach you how to play video games. How does that sound?"

Raven started blankly at Alex. Seriously? "No thanks."

"Oh, come on. I won't tell anyone..." Alex offered.

"Won't tell anyone what?" Beast Boy asked as he walked up to grab a soda.

"Nothing! See, Raven? I'm already headed in the right direction." Alex said, nudging towards Raven. Raven rolled her eyes.

"No. If you keep this up I won't even teach you chess." Raven chided.

"What? You're going to teach _her_ chess? How come whenever I asked you always said no?" Beast Boy asked, somewhat hurt.

"Because you're more annoying than she is." Raven said, turning around to leave. Alex grinned from ear to ear while she did a silent victory dance, pointing at Beast Boy in a 'nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh, nyeh' fashion. "Stop that." Raven chided once again as she walked away. Alex immediately stopped and held her hands behind her back, trying to look innocent, while Beast Boy stifled his laughter.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks again for reading :] review plawks. <em>

_Creep - Shirobon! This one doesn't have any lyrics, which I thought fit kind of well. heheh.  
><em>


	5. Lollipop

_As Always, thanks to my beta, Darth Azrael :) Not to mention thanks to my reviewers! They make me happy:3_

_Anyway, enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I don't own The Teen Titans or any of the songs used.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Lollipop<strong>

Raven awoke to a blood curdling scream. Dashing out of bed, she ran to the source of the noise, which from the sounds of things was the common room. As soon as she entered the room however, her eyebrows knitted up in confusion.

Beast Boy was literally on the floor laughing while Alex was glaring down at him with eyes of fury like Raven had never seen from her, "Dude, Beast Boy, that's _not_ cool!" Alex shouted at him.

"I'm sorry –hahah—that was just—hahah—too good!" Beast Boy said between fits of laughter.

Raven heard the door open behind her and turned around to a confused Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire.

"What happened here?" Robin asked.

"I think Beast Boy played a practical Joke on Alex." Raven answered.

"Oh."

Alex had stayed at the Titans Tower for about a week, and for the time she spent there, Beast Boy and Alex had been playing little practical jokes on each other. Rather, Beast Boy had been playing them on Alex.

"I should beat the green off of you for that! You know how much I hate snakes!" Alex resumed shouting as Beast Boy continued his laughter.

"Wait, what exactly happened?" Robin asked, finally gaining Alex and Beast Boy's attention for the first time.

Alex narrowed her eyes, "While I was sleeping, _he—!"_ she pointed an accusatory finger at Beast Boy, "Morphed into a snake and crawled under my blanket, scaring me half to death!"

"Technically it's 'slithered'." Beast Boy corrected, _still_ laughing. Alex, infuriated beyond all reason, finally slapped him on the shoulder. "Ow!"

"Come on, you deserved that one." Alex said, and Beast Boy nodded, chastised.

Cyborg yawned, "Well, if this is over with, I'm going back to bed."

"What time _is _it?" Robin asked.

Cyborg looked at his robotic arm, "3:15 In the morning."

Everyone groaned, "Sorry..." Alex mumbled.

"It's Beast Boy's fault." Raven said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hey!" Beast Boy said, before looking at Raven, "Oh, my god, Raven. What happened to your hair?"

Everyone turned their attention to Raven's hair, which currently was a mess, with strands hanging out everywhere. "What?" she asked.

What? Would you comb your hair if you heard a scream in the middle of the night?

Beast Boy started laughing, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Alex rolled her eyes, "You look fine, Raven."

"Whatever, I'm going back to bed." She stated leaving, everyone following after her.

XXX

Raven woke later that morning and as per her usual morning ritual, made her way to the common room with her book in hand. The closer she got to said room; however, she heard a musical beat, causing a voice in her head telling her to turn around. Ignoring the voice, she drew nearer and nearer until she finally saw Alex sitting outside the common room, banging her head against the wall tiredly, before she noticed Raven.

"Raven," she said tiredly, "Thank god you're here. Please help me." Alex said, leading Raven into the common room. As soon as Raven entered, she realized why Alex must have exited in the first place.

_Sh-sh-sh-she lick me like a lollipop (yeah) Sh-she lick me like a lollipop (yeah) Sh-sh-sh-she lick me like a lollipop (yeah) Sh-she lick me like a lollipop_

There was rap music playing.

_Shawty wanna thug Bottles in the club Shawty wanna hump Ya know I like to touch ya lovely lady lump_

Very loudly.

"What is this?" Raven asked, having to raise her voice over the music.

"I don't know!" Alex exclaimed throwing her hands in the air, "It started like, a half hour ago, and I can't get it to stop. _The same damn song! _Over and over! It's burning itself into my mind!"

"Have you tried turning it down?" Raven asked, getting a glare back from Alex. Right. Of course she tried, "This must be another one of Beast Boy's stupid tricks."

"_Beast Boy._" Alex said, venom dripping from her voice. "I can't believe what he did earlier tonight! I hate snakes. _Hate. __**hate**_, _hate! _Like, cannot _stand—!_"

"Yeah. I get it." Raven interrupted.

_Shawty wanna thug (oh yeah I like that)Bottles in the club (oh yeah I like that)Shawty wanna hump (oh yeah I like that)And ooo I like to touch ya lovely lady lumps_

Raven couldn't listen to anymore of this, "I'm leaving."

"What? You can't just _leave_ me here!" Alex pleaded.

Raven sighed, "Come on then."

Alex followed Raven to wherever they were going, which she wasn't quite sure exactly where that was yet. All she was sure of was that it involved a lot of stairs, and she was already tired anyway. Raven finally reached a doorway at the top of the staircase and opened it up, revealing the rooftop. Alex raised a questioning brow.

"I come here for quiet sometimes." Raven answered, surprised by her own honesty. She levitated a few feet off the ground, legs crossed and began reading.

"I can understand why," Alex said as she looked out over the city, "It's even more beautiful from up here." Raven looked up from her book at Alex, making Alex smile nervously, "Right. Quiet."

Alex stretched across the ground, using her arm as a headrest. "Thanks for showing me your quiet place." She said as she closed her eyes to try and fall back asleep. Raven blinked and looked back down at Alex in surprise.

XXX

That night the Titans and Alex had decided to go to the drive-in theatre to see the _Underworld_ movie marathon.

"What time are we leaving?" Alex asked, excited. She hadn't been to the drive-in since she was a kid.

"Probably in a half hour. The first movie starts at 7:30." Cyborg answered.

"This is gonna be so cool! Triple the action! Triple the _hotness_" Beast Boy said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively towards Alex.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." Alex said, slapping Beast Boy's arm.

"Ow, hey! You've been doing that all day!"

"Yeah, well, you've been deserving it! I've had that stupid song in my head all day! Lollipops will never be the same!" Alex cried out. Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin all started laughing. "That's not funny!"

"I do not understand it either, Alex." Starfire said, patting Alex on the shoulder.

"You guys are jerks." She said to the guys, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

The boys continued laughing.

"Hey, why don't you go see if Raven's coming?" Cyborg asked Alex, getting over his laughter.

"Me?" Alex questioned. She knew that she and Raven still weren't the best of friends.

"Yeah, I can tell that Rae is starting to like you." Beast Boy said, giving Alex a thumbs up.

Alex rolled her eyes at the nickname Beast Boy had said for Raven, she knew Raven didn't like it yet he had continued to use it. Alex figured it was on purpose. "Fine, I'll be right back."

As she reached Raven's door she suddenly became irrationally nervous. It's not as if Raven would scream at her to go away, would she?

...Would she?

She nervously knocked on the door. A few moments later it slid open enough only to show half of Raven's face.

_Creepy..._ Alex thought, though she tried to keep it from showing on her face.

"What is it?" Raven asked, not knowing why Alex would show up at her door.

"Oh—um, I, well, we wanted to know if you were coming with us tonight to the drive-in for the _Underworld _marathon_._ It'll be fun." Alex replied, looking just about everywhere but at Raven. Why was she so nervous? After analyzing the question, she realized it was because she wanted Raven to like her.

"No." Raven said and shut the door in Alex's face.

"Why—?" But Alex didn't a chance to finish asking her question as the door was already shut. "Oh-kay..."

Alex walked back to the common room, dragging her feet. What was with Raven? One day, she was nice (by Raven's standards). The next, she was totally rude. Alex was about ready to give up.

"So, what'd she say?" Robin inquired after Alex made her way back into the room.

"She's didn't _say _anything. What she _did _was shut the door in my face." Alex answered, plopping herself on the sofa with a huff.

"Sounds just like Raven." Robin said with a laugh.

"Is there something that is the matter, Alex?" Starfire questioned.

Alex looked up at Starfire, who was standing in front of her with a questioning and earnest look on her face. Alex sighed. She didn't want to bother anyone with this, especially since it seemed so stupid to her. So she gave a small smile, "No, Star, I'm fine."

"Alright. Please know that if you are experiencing any troubles I am here for you." Starfire nodded with a smile.

"Thanks."

"Alright, kids! Time to go!" Cyborg announced. They all made their way to the T-car and piled in.

Cyborg pulled into the drive-in theatre, getting the 'best seat in the house', or so he called it. They'd somehow managed to make it in the center, even though the place was already packed. As soon as they parked, the Titans and Alex got out of the car, pulling out a folding chair for each of them.

"Oh, and how could I forget?" Cyborg smirked as he pressed a button on the controller in his hand. Suddenly, where the doors of the T-car used to be, high definition speakers popped out.

"Impressive." Was all that Alex was able to say.

"Isn't my baby always?" Cyborg asked, patting the hood of his 'baby' affectionately.

Other impressed onlookers 'oood' and ahh'd' Cyborg's creation, asking him many questions that Alex didn't understand.

"What kind of system is that?"

"How many watts is it?"

"How did you get it to fit on your car like that?"

The questions droned on and on, until Alex couldn't take it anymore. She was thirsty anyway, so she decided to go on down to the concession stand.

"Hey, guys." She interrupted the questions. "I'm gonna go get a drink."

"That sounds good, I'll take a coke." Robin said.

"Yeah, dr. pepper for me, too, please. Oh, and a corndog, too?" Cyborg said, momentarily turning away from his crowd of worshipers.

"I'll take what he's having. Minus the corndog" Beast Boy said.

"Actually, a corndog sounds good. I'll take one." Robin added.

"I would enjoy a drink of mustard, please." Starfire asked nicely.

Alex looked at Robin, "What am I, the waitress?" she asked.

"We rotate who gets the snacks, and since you're the new blood, you get that prestigious honor." he responded making air quotes around 'prestigious honor'. Alex groaned and dragged her feet towards the concession stand.

"So that's, one root beer, two dr. peppers, one coke, two corndogs, and one... cup of mustard?" the lady behind the concession stand asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry...but I'm totally serious." Alex said, a little embarrassed.

"Alright... I'll have that up for you in a few minutes. I'll call you when it's ready." She said.

"'Kay." Alex said, roaming around, kind of bored.

"_Alex?_" Alex heard, turning around at her name.

"Justin, hey!" She greeted with a smile, waving him over to her. She was actually glad to see him here. The past week had been pretty hectic. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you kidding? I'm here to see _Underworld. _What about you?" He asked as he reached her.

"Same, I'm here with the Titans. Actually, I'm getting them drinks and stuff now." she added with a sigh.

"Don't tell me they made you their maid or something!" he said, raising his voice.

"Robin said since I'm the new blood I do it this time but it's no problem." Alex defended.

"Good. I'm glad. Actually..." Justin started, but suddenly looked embarrassed.

"What?"

"Well... don't freak out. But my date really likes you and if they see you here they might, well, freak out." Justin finished.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, confused. "I haven't even done anything."

"Well, the other day, when you were the hostage—" Justin began but was cut off.

"Justin, there you are!" A boy about their age said, running up to Justin. "Why'd you leave? I was waiting by the bathroom, like, _forever,_ when—oh. My. _Gosh_ is that _Alex?_ _The_ Alex? I'm so happy to meet you!" The boy said, clamping his arms around Alex in a hug. At first, Alex flinched, expecting to not be able to breathe, but when she realized this was a _normal_ hug, she simply returned it, albeit shyly.

"Um...hi." She greeted.

"Oh, my god. Where are my manners?" He said, jumping back to Justin's side, extending his hand. "I'm Andrew."

"Alex." Alex said, extending her own in a handshake.

"_Pff_. Of course I know who you are. You saved my Justin!" Andrew said.

_I'm here with my date...My Justin..._The words ran through Alex's head.

"Oh. You two are together?" She asked, shyly.

"Four months!" Andrew answered excitedly with a smile, holding up four fingers. Alex smiled back.

"That's cool. And for the record, he kind of saved me,"Alex left out from saying, "With his _pizza pan of doom._ Remember, Justin?" Alex asked with a sly grin his way.

"See! I told you I helped! Why wouldn't you believe me?" Justin turned to Andrew, narrowing his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I believe you! Just stop looking at me like that; you know I hate it when you do that!" Andrew caved.

Alex laughed at their antics, and before she knew it she heard, "Your order's up, mustard girl."

"Oh, heh...that's me." Alex said, shyly excusing herself. However, as soon as she reached the concession stand again she realized she wouldn't be able to carry everything by herself, even with drink carriers. She groaned in anguish, before she heard some laughter from behind her.

"Need some help?" Justin asked.

"You wouldn't mind?"

"We're headed the same way anyway, right? Come on, let's go." Justin answered as they each grabbed something.

"...Is this cup full of mustard?" Andrew asked, obviously very confused.

"Please don't ask."

On their way back to the T-car, Andrew asked Alex if she could teach him some fighting styles, causing Justin to burst out laughing, nearly spilling the drinks he was carrying.

"What's so funny about it?" Andrew asked, hurt.

"Oh, come on, you know I love ya, Drew, but you don't got a muscle in your body. You're just not the fighting type." Justin said, trying to stifle his laughter.

Alex looked over at Andrew and had to agree, he didn't look like the fighting type at all. He was a little short for their age, had blonde hair that went down to his chin, and blue eyes, wearing skinny black jeans and a skin tight gray shirt

"No fair." Andrew pouted. "Just 'cause you had the chance to prove your manliness..."

As they reached the T-car the noticed a semi-circle of people formed around it. Walking carefully around mass of people, they finally reached the Titans and passed around the food and drinks with everyone saying their thanks.

"So I guess I should let you two get back to your date, huh." Alex said with a chuckle.

"Yeah I think the movie's about to start in a minute; it was nice talking to you again." Justin said.

"Wait, can I have your number? So we can hang out again sometime..." Alex asked and Justin gave Alex his phone number.

"What's yours?" He asked.

"Well, actually, I don't have a cell...and I don't know the number for the Titan's tower..." She trailed off.

Robin, overhearing the conversation cut in, "We don't give out the number to people, sorry guys."

Alex looked from Robin back to Justin and Andrew and shrugged. "Sorry."

"Eh, it's okay. Just promise to call sometime when you're not busy being a super hero, alright?" Andrew teased, poking Alex.

"I'm really not a hero..." Alex said back.

"Of course you are, you're rollin' with the Titans now." Andrew said. Alex simply rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you guys later." She said.

"Bye!" The boys called as they walked off.

"Can it be? Has Alex made friends?" Beast Boy joked as he took a sip of his drink from his seat in the folding chair he set up.

"Hah-hah" Alex mock-laughed. "Contrary to belief, I do have some social skills." Alex began to sit down next to him, but thought twice about it and got back up and looked down at her seat. Good thing she looked, "Really, Beast Boy? A whoopee cushion?" She asked in disbelief, picking it up and throwing it on him.

"Damn! You almost fell for it, too!" Beast Boy cried out.

"God, what is it with you and these stupid jokes?" Alex asked, sitting down. However, soon after, the legs of the chair started to bend out and the chair started collapsing. Before Alex knew what was happening, the chair was completely on the ground. "What _now_?" her question was answered when Beast Boy let out a howl of laughter, coupled with a few people of the surrounding crowd. "Beast Boy! God dammit! What did you do?"

"Nothing!" He laughed, "It's a practical joke chair! It's supposed to do that."

"Where's my real chair?" Alex asked, fuming.

Beast Boy blinked, laughter gone, "What?"

"You know, the chair I'm supposed to sit in while I'm watching the movie? The one that _doesn't _collapse?"

Beast Boy gulped, "Well... there wasn't enough room in the trunk for both, so I just packed that one..."

Alex refrained from screaming out in anger. Really, these jokes were getting old for her. "Where am I supposed to sit then?"

"Um..." Beast Boy began, but couldn't finish.

Cyborg finally decided to jump in, sensing Beast Boy's physical being at stake, "You can sit on the hood of the car, Alex."

Alex seemed to calm down, "You sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Cyborg assured her.

"It'll be like a White Snake music video. "Beast Boy said, before Cyborg smacked him in the head.

"Chill out with the jokes green bean. We've all had enough of them today."

Alex got up from her spot from the ground and hopped onto the car, laying her back against the windshield. It was actually pretty comfortable. After a minute, the previews started, and then finally the first movie.

XXX

The next day, no one woke up until around 11 in the morning. No one, that is, except Raven because she was the only one who didn't go, and Robin, who, after spending his young life under the tutelage of the Batman, was always able to wake up at an ungodly hour to spend his mornings in the training room to wake himself up. She got to enjoy a nice and (mostly) quiet morning of Alex snoring lightly in the common room.

Alex woke up, yawning and stretching. "'Morning, Raven." She called.

"Good morning." Raven replied, without looking up from her book as she took a sip from her tea.

Alex got up from the couch and stood a few feet from the glass overlooking the city, as she started at the buildings. "It's a lot prettier at night." She said with a sigh, turning around and making her way to the door, "I'm gonna go take a shower." She announced, used to having no response from Raven, she walked out.

Raven looked up to where Alex was a second ago, then back to her book. After a few minutes of reading, Raven looked back up around the room, feigning a sigh. Was it actually... _too_ quiet?

No, that was impossible. Raven simply ignored the feeling and returned to her book. However, after a few more minutes passed the feeling returned anew, even stronger. She looked back up, this time actually with an actual sigh. Fine, she'll admit it. She missed Alex's stupid, cute snoring.

_Wait_. She didn't just call Alex's snoring _cute._ No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Nope. Didn't happen. There. See what denial gets you? Contentment. Before she could turn back to her book, Alex walked into the room, brushing her wet hair.

"You know, I was thinking...sometimes I snore when I'm really tired." Alex began as she sat down on the couch, facing away from Raven. "I hope I wasn't annoying you."

"Don't worry, it was...cute." Oh crap. Raven just admitted it. _Out loud._ What was she thinking? That was the problem; she wasn't. She hurriedly buried her face in her book before Alex turned back around, surprise evident on her face with a tinge of a blush.

Not really sure what else to say, Alex managed a small, "...Thanks?"

"Yeah." Raven replied awkwardly, her soul self engulfing her and teleporting her out of the room.

XXX

So far, the rest of the day had gone off without a hitch. Alex was walking down the hall on her way to the common room, when she turned a corner she felt her foot trip some sort of wire. Confused, she continued walking forward until she saw a giant orange water balloon headed right towards her. Rather than duck out of the way, she let it phase through her, hearing it splat on something behind her. Down the hall she saw a rather upset Beast Boy. "Hah!" Alex called out, "You missed me!"

Beast Boy started running in the opposite direction with his hands in the air screaming, "Run away, run away!"

Confused, Alex looked all around until she finally turned around to see a _very_ angry Raven with her arms held out from her body covered from head to toe in a purple...something.

"Oh, my god, Raven!" Alex said as she ran up to Raven, who literally growled back in response. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea you were behind me! I wouldn't have—"

"What, you would have let it hit you?" Raven asked, annoyed as she tried to scrape some of the-_whatever_ it was off.

Alex tried to come up with an answer, "Well...I dunno. I would have come up with something..." She said as she tried to help Raven only to be swatted away, "Hey... is this grape jelly?" Alex asked, in half disbelief. This _was_ Beast Boy after all.

"Great. Now I'm going to smell like grape jelly for the rest of the week." Raven retorted.

Alex tried to lighten the mood with a small smile, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, grape jelly is my favorite." Raven stared back unblinkingly at her. "No?" Alex's smile vanished. "Okay then. Well, actually, wait right here. I have an idea." She said as she walked away into the nearest room. Raven was literally about to walk away when Alex returned with a garbage can.

"Your plan is to scrape it all off into the garbage can?" Raven asked, unimpressed. Alex rolled her eyes.

"No, you can levitate, right?" Raven nodded to Alex's question. "Go ahead then, above the trash can. And hold my hand." Raven stared at Alex with a 'what the hell are you doing' look and Alex found herself rolling her eyes yet again, "Just trust me?" Raven gave her a look. "Hey, it's either this or let me lick the jelly off you. Now start floating." Alex said.

Raven did as she was told and levitated above the garbage can, holding Alex's hand. Alex held her free hand over Raven as if she were performing some sort of magic trick, and then waved her hand in the air exaggeratedly, "And...Jelly be gone!" Raven felt all the grape jelly falling _through_ her body, into the garbage can.

Although Raven was impressed with the results, she had to roll her eyes at the performance. "Was all that really necessary?" She asked.

"Sometimes you just have to go for style points." Alex smiled. "Though I suggest you take a shower. You were right about smelling like grape jelly for a while..." Raven groaned. This _so_ wasn't her day. "However..." Alex continued with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I _was_ hoping on getting Beast Boy back for all his stupid tricks lately. You wanna help?"

"No thanks." Raven replied as she began walking down the hall to her room.

"Alright." Alex called behind her, "Just yell and slap Beast Boy like you normally do. Because that _always _works. Anyway, I'll see you later." Alex said, walking the other direction.

As soon as the words left Alex's mouth, Raven stopped in her tracks. As she thought about it, it never _did_ work; but it certainly was fun. However, she really didn't want something like this to happen again. She turned around facing Alex's retreating form, "I'm in."

Alex turned around, facing Raven. She couldn't believe her words actually worked. Not being able to hold back a "Yay!" from surfacing, she walked back over to Raven, "So what do you think we should do?"

Raven nearly face-palmed. "You don't have a plan yet?"

"Er...no... I've never really done this before." Alex said, somewhat embarrassed.

Raven sighed; this meant they'd have to work something out. "Let me take a shower first, then we can come up with something." She said.

Alex smiled, "Alright. See you later" She waved as she walked off.

XXX

Later that night, Beast Boy, Alex and Raven were the last ones up. Alex and Beast Boy were playing video games while Raven sat in the chair adjacent to them reading her book silently.

Beast Boy and Alex wildly pressed buttons on their controllers before Alex hollered out with a smile, "Boom! You're dead."

Beast Boy got up and tossed his controller on to the couch somewhat angrily before stretching. "Whatever, I'm going to bed. 'Night."

"Night." Alex called as he left the room, then turning to Raven, "Operation 'Scare-the- Crap-out-of-Beast-Boy' a go?" She asked, barely containing her excitement.

"Must you call it that?" Raven asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes."

Raven sighed, "Yes, operation's a go."

Beast Boy yawned as he walked out of the common room, he heard Alex talking to Raven about something. Something about 'operations'.

Girl talk.

Meh.

Suddenly he heard laughter echoing softly through the halls. Looking around, he found no one. Shrugging to himself, he continued forward.

_Must have been in my head._ He thought to himself.

After a few moments of silent walking, he heard the laughter again, though louder. And this time he was sure it was Alex's. He turned around sharply; sure he'd catch her behind him, "Hah!" He blurted out, but no one was there. "Huh?" He asked, scratching his head. He turned back around, continuing his route to his room when the laughter started back up again. Again, he turned around, "O-okay, Alex, hah-hah! You got me! Good one—joke's over now!" he called out to no one. Suddenly all the lights went out and everything was pitch black. "A-Alex?" He turned back around frantically, and came face to face with four red slits of eyes. "Ahhhhhh!" Beast Boy called out, trying to run away, but felt two powerful hands pull at his ankles, pulling him down into the darkness. He continued to scream as he was dragged down, unable to see anything. Beast Boy felt like he was free falling, frozen in fear and unable to morph into anything to save himself. Finally, he felt a pair of strong arms grab him around the arms, pushing him somewhere where he was finally still. He almost had the urge to throw up, but managed not to. The darkness faded and the first thing he saw was Alex, who looked like she was having trouble standing up from laughing so hard. Beast Boy immediately became furious and tried to attack her in some way, but realized he could only move his neck and his arms from his elbows up. Looking down, he saw that he was stuck in the wall.

"_Alex_!" Beast Boy shouted furiously "What did you do to me!"

"Well, I got you back. With some help, of course." Alex said, motioning towards Raven who was standing right next to her, "How's it feel?"

"What, you too Raven? But that was an _accident!_" Beast Boy whined.

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place." Raven chided.

"But—But!..." Beast Boy started, before his face fell, "Fine, I'm sorry! Will you just let me out now?"

"No! Not until you've thought about what you've done. See you in the morning!" Alex said as she walked off, Raven following close behind.

"You're gonna leave me out here all night? Dude, that's like, cruelty! You can't do this to me!" Beast Boy called out, trying to wiggle free from the wall as he watched their retreating forms.

"Shoulda thought about that before..." Alex sing-songed. She soon began laughing, "That was awesome! I hope he learns his lesson."

"Are you really going to leave him there all night?" Raven asked.

"Meh, it's after midnight, and by the time we wake up its like five anyway. That's not too long." Alex answered with a shrug as she began chuckling again, "I'm sorry, that really was just awesome. Just remind me to never piss you off." Alex finished with crooked grin, and Raven answered it with a small one smile of her own. "You're smiling again. Cool." Alex said.

Of course, this made Raven immediately retract her smile. "Goodnight, Alex."

"'Night Raven." Alex continued to smile as they parted ways.

XXX

Robin walked down the hall or the Titan's Tower, combing his fingers through his hair. Yawning as he passed Beast Boy stuck in the wall, to which he uttered a quick "Morning.", he turned the corner and scratched his chin idly.

Wait—Beast Boy stuck in the wall? Robin back tracked to where he thought he saw this and sure enough, Beast Boy was sticking out from his neck and elbows. His head was dangling down, where a long line of drool was falling down into a puddle on the floor as his arms were hanging limply. Robin scratched his head in puzzlement. Suddenly, Cyborg walked by and noticed the situation.

"Uh..." Cyborg started, "Is that Beast Boy-?"

"Yep." Robin answered. Unless he was dreaming again. He'd rather go back to dreaming about Starfire.

"Why is he..."Cyborg trailed off.

"I don't know." Robin answered. Just then, Alex turned around the corner.

"Hey, guys. What are you—? Oh! I almost forgot!" She said as she tapped Beast Boy's hand, trying to wake him. At first, he snorted but fell back asleep. Alex tried again, and finally he woke up.

"Ugh...where am I?" Before he looked at Alex's mischievous smirk and last night's prank came flooding back into his memory. "Oh. Now I remember. Are you going to let me go now?" He asked disdainfully.

"Depends, have you learned your lesson?" She asked.

"Alex, c'mon. I really have to pee..."

"Boy, if you pee in these walls..." Cyborg warned.

"Tell Alex to let me go then!" Beast Boy whined.

"Not until you say you've learned your lesson." Alex wagged her finger back and forth.

"Fine! I've learned my lesson! I'll never prank you _or_ Raven again! There, can you let me go now? _Please_?" He cried out pleadingly.

Alex grinned, "Was that so hard?" She grabbed him by the elbows and pulled him out of the wall. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he zoomed towards the nearest bathroom.

Hearing the commotion, Raven turned the corner. The next thing she knew, a green blur is passing by her and saying, "I'msorryRavenI'llneverdoitagain!"

Raven stared after the green blur in confusion, looking back at the other occupants of the hall. The boys looked rather confused, but Alex looked pretty satisfied. Raven walked up to them, "I thought you were going to let him go sooner."

"I, um...I—I...kinda forgot." Alex said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "But hey! He learned his lesson for sure now. High five!" Alex called, raising her hand to high five Raven's. Raven just stared at Alex's hand without any sign she was going to return the gesture. "No?" Alex asked, "Alrighty then." She awkwardly put her hand back down.

Feeling sorry for her, Cyborg jumped in, "Who wants some waffles?"

"Breakfast sounds great!" Alex jumped at the chance for a change of subject, walking with Cyborg to the common room. Robin couldn't help but catch the look of amusement in Raven's eyes as she watched Alex walk away.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading :] <em>

_Review pleaasee._

_Lollipop - Lil' Wayne._

_Or, if you want to listen to the rock version remake, Lollipop - Framing Hanley.  
><em>


	6. Show Us Your Success

_As always, thanks to my beta reader, Darth Azrael, as well as my loyal reviewers and readers :)_

_I decided to rewrite chapter 1, so if you feel like going back and rereading that that's really up to you but, eh._

_Anyway, onward with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or the songs I use.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Show Us Your Success<strong>

Raven was on her way to the common room when something shiny on the floor caught her eye. (Yes, even she could be distracted by shiny objects sometimes). Leaning over to pick it up, she learned it was a silver heart shaped locket. Turning it over onto the back, it read:

_Carrie_

_Love you_

_Always,_

_Dave_

_Hm, that's odd._ Raven thought. She didn't know a Carrie or a Dave. She decided to keep it anyways in case some else knew who it belonged to. Walking into the common room, however, Raven became very confused. The whole room was a mess; the sofa and chair were tilted over, cushions strewn across the room while all the cupboards were open and a few cans of food were out on the tables. The only two people in the room at the moment besides Raven were Alex and Cyborg, so they seemed to be the only logical culprits.

"Have you seen it yet?" Alex ruffled through the sofa for the fourth time.

"Nope. Sorry Alex, I just don't think it's in here." Cyborg answered as he continued searching the floor.

"It _has_ to be." Alex nearly sounded close to tears.

"What are you looking for?" Raven asked, walking up.

"A locket. It was my moms; my dad gave it to her for their tenth anniversary." Alex sniffled. "I can't believe I lost it _again._"

"Is this it?" Raven asked, holding up the locket she found just outside the door. Alex looked in Ravens hand and immediately snatched it out, gasping in disbelief.

"Oh, my god! Thank you _so_ much! Where was it?" Alex asked, holding the locket close to her heart and taking a deep breath of relief.

"Just outside the door." Raven pointed.

Alex's eye twitched. "Seriously? The chain must have broken again when I was brushing my hair or something..."

"Can I see the chain?" Raven held out her hand and Alex offered the chain, "And the locket, too." Alex handed that over as well. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." Raven muttered under her breath, and soon the locket and chain were wrapped in her soul self. The locket joined back together with the chain, and the link fused back together where it had broken. Alex watched all this in amazement, while the black aura wore off and the locket fell down, landing softly in her hand.

"That was amazing, Raven." Alex said in awe.

"It was nothing. Let me help you put it on." Raven said and Alex complied, turning around so Raven could put it on for her. After it was on, Alex turned back around, placing the locket under her jacket.

"Really. It means a lot to me." Alex said earnestly before looking around for something she could give back to Raven to make up for her troubles. "Oh! Want some loose change I found in the couch? I believe it adds up to over $7." She wiggled her eyebrows for added effect.

"...I'm good."

Alex looked over Raven and tried to decide if it was worth it or not. Yeah, it really was. "Screw it, I'ma hug you then." Alex said, giving a very surprised Raven a side hug for a few moments before letting go. "Sorry, I know you don't like that kind of stuff."

Raven was still too shocked to say anything by the time Cyborg cut in, "What about me? I've been helping you look for that locket all morning, don't _I _get anything?"

Alex grinned, "You can have...this half eaten candy bar I found?"

"Mmm...caramel." Cyborg patted his stomach. They shared a laugh.

"No, you get a big bear hug for helping me. Thank you!" Alex walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Psh, you call this a bear hug? _This_ is a bear hug." He said as he lifted a laughing Alex off the ground, shaking her back and forth in the air. Cyborg put her back down, "Now _that's _a bear hug. Get it right, Alex."

"Oh, sorry. Next time I'll lift you up into the air, too." Alex said rolling her eyes, but unable to keep the smile from her face.

"Good." Cyborg smiled in return.

"Anyway, since I guess Raven doesn't want it...do you want the $7?" She asked.

"Sure, this way I can go get me some _real_ candy. You want some?" He offered, taking the change off of the table.

"Uh, and turn down an offer for _chocolate?_ I think not. Raven, you want so—?" Alex began to ask, but Raven was already out the door.

"She doesn't like chocolate much anyways." Cyborg shrugged.

Alex gaped, "You're lying."

"No, I'm not." He shook his head smiling.

"Fine, then _she's_ lying. I don't believe her." Alex said narrowing her eyes in disbelief.

Cyborg shrugged, "That's up to you. You ready to go?" Alex nodded and they left for the store.

XXX

Robin entered the common room and immediately noticed the mess. He stared blankly at it for a few moments, as if willpower alone would make it clean itself up. Sliding his hand over his face, he picked up the sofa, returning it to its right position and putting the cushions back on.

_There, one part done. _He thought to himself as he looked around the room._ Only the rest of the room to go..._

XXX

Beast Boy sat on the couch watching TV that afternoon while Alex nibbled on her Hershey kisses. She wouldn't even _share_.

_That's just so rude, _he crossed his arms, trying to turn away from Alex. However as soon as he did, the muscles in his neck tightened causing pain to rush through his neck. "Ow!" He cried out with a hand rushing to his neck.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, chewing her chocolate.

"My stupid neck hurts. And it's all your fault!" Beast Boy pointed an accusatory finger at Alex.

"What? Why?"

"Because you kept me in that _stupid_ wall all night! That couldn't have been good for my neck." Beast Boy said, rubbing his neck gingerly.

"Oh, sorry...I never even thought of that. Here, let me massage it for you." Alex got up and stood behind the couch where Beast Boy was sitting and began rubbing his neck for him.

"Ahh..." He said as Alex's fingers worked over his neck and shoulders, "That feels good...have you done this before? Guys, you've got to try this." Robin, Starfire and Raven all ignored him.

Alex shrugged, "I used to massage my martial arts teacher's neck a lot. She was always stressed."

"Well next time you see her; thank her for me will ya?" Beast Boy said sinking into the sofa.

Alex just rolled her eyes, "Alright. Are you ready? On the count of three..."

"Hm?... okay."

"One..."

"Wait...what?"

"Two..."

"No, seriously, what's on the count of—"

"_Three_!" Alex shouted out, quickly jerking Beast Boy's neck to the right. Many cracks were heard throughout the room, followed by Beast Boy's yelp of pain as he jumped up from the sofa.

"Alex, what the hell was that!" He shouted, rubbing his neck. "Are you _trying _to make it worse?" Alex only smirked in response. "What's with that stupid—hey," Beast Boy said, rolling his neck around, "My neck feels great! How did you do that?"

"I have many skills." Alex said, matter-of-factly.

"Alex? Could I talk to you for a sec?" Robin asked from the table. Alex got back up and joined him at the table, sitting across from him, noticing that Starfire had left.

"Yeah?"

"You've got an interview later today, don't forget, okay?" He said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

Alex looked at him disbelievingly, "What?"

"There's an interview for you later today with Chad Williams. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget."

"How can I forget when you didn't even tell me?" Alex started raising her voice.

"I didn't?..." He asked, looking around as if in thought, "Are you sure?..."

"Hell yeah I'm sure! I would have said no, just like I'm saying no now! You can't make me do this, Robin." Alex said, close to banging her fist on the table.

"Well, it's too late to say no now. You have to do it, Alex. It'd look bad. Please? Just once?" Robin asked, putting on his best charming smile, the smile that made so many of the ladies in Gotham melt. It wasn't working on Alex.

Alex shook her head, furious. "This is ridiculous; you've backed me into a wall, Robin. Why does it feel like you've done this on purpose? Never mind—I'll do it. But _just _this once. And for the record—I'm_ pissed_ at you." She said, getting up from the chair and walking back over to the sofa, plopping down angrily.

_I can't even go into my own room to sulk..._Alex thought angrily, crossing her arms.

"Raven? Can I talk to you?" Robin asked a little too pleasantly. Raven, having heard the previous conversation, was suspicious but got up from the chair she was sitting in and walked over to Robin. "I need you to take Alex to her interview."

Raven stared at him blankly until she realized he was serious, "...What?"

"I need you to—"

"I heard you, and the answer is no." She said, heading out of the room. Robin quickly followed her out the door, grabbing her arm and turning her around.

"C'mon, why not?" He asked.

"Why can't you, or anyone else for that matter?" Raven deflected with a question of her own.

"I think it would be good for you." Robin answered.

"I'm _not _a babysitter."

"Maybe, but you _do _know Chad better than the rest of us."

Raven glared daggers at Robin. He was backing her into a corner, just like he had for Alex. Raven was almost positive he'd planned the whole thing out, just like he had for Alex. She continued to glare at him for a few moments before finally sighing in defeat, "I don't like this."

XXX

"I don't like this." Alex said sullenly as she and Raven walked on to the set.

"I know." Raven replied, "Just be yourself; don't do anything stupid."

"That's contradictory."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Remember, it's live. One time Beast Boy started picking his—"

"It's _live_? Oh, my god. I can't do this." Alex said holding her head in her hands, her breath becoming short. She quickly turned around to leave, only to have Raven grab her by the arm.

"You'll be fine." Raven said. She actually wasn't sure, of course. But she needed Alex to think so, so she brought on more words of encouragement, "Just like I said, be yourself. Everything will be fine. If he asks any questions you don't want to answer, just say 'I'm not comfortable answering that', or 'I'd rather not talk about this'."

Alex nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks."

"Alex? You're late!" A girl wearing a headset came up and grabbed Alex by the elbow, dragging her away. Alex gave a classic 'help me' look to Raven, making Raven sigh and follow them both. "Is that what you're wearing?" The girl asked in slight disgust after they finally stopped.

"Why does everyone have a problem with my jacket?..." Alex asked in a small voice towards Raven. Raven shrugged and shook her head. Personally, she didn't have a problem with it.

"Never mind, its fine. Makeup!" The girl called, sitting Alex down in front of a mirror. Suddenly Alex's face was bombarded with powder and blush, causing her to cough violently. Raven turned her head to the side and smirked.

"There, you're as ready as we can make you." The headset girl sighed, sparing a glance at the makeup guy, who dismissed her look off with an effeminate wave of his hand.

"Honey don't look at me, I didn't have much work to do." he said.

"I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered." Alex muttered. The makeup guy looked at her,

"Be flattered honey, me not having to do much means you already looked good. The jacket's an eyesore but who am I to judge?" he said. The headset girl sighed again before grabbing Alex by the arm again and dragged her to the set. In front of the cameras stood a man in his early twenties with sandy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. With the way he looked, Alex wasn't surprised he was in front of cameras all day.

As soon as he noticed Alex and Raven, he smiled and greeted, "Alex! It's so nice to meet you. I'm Chad Williams. I wish we had more time to get to know each other, but we really have to get this started on time." He glanced towards Raven, smile wavering, "Are you going to be joining us Raven? You could offer your opinion on the newest addition to your team."

"No, I—"

"Well alright, there's a spot over there where you can stand or we can get a chair for you if you want." Chad said, interrupting Raven.

"Okay. Good luck, Alex." Raven said, waving Alex off. Alex watched Raven's retreating form, helpless, opening her mouth to say something but was cut off by Chad.

"So, you ready?" He asked with what Alex assumed was supposed to be a charming smile.

"Not really..." She muttered.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll do great." He chuckled, motioning for Alex to sit in the chair across from his.

Alex sat down, quickly noting that the seat wasn't _nearly _as comfortable as the cushion's at the Titan's Tower.

"So when's this starting?" She asked.

"Oh, in about..."

"And we're live in five..." The cameraman started counting down.

"_What?_" Alex asked, clearly not ready. Her heart started pounding faster and faster.

"Four..."

"Don't worry, like I said, you'll do great." Chad smiled.

The camera man continued to countdown on his fingers until he got down to one, and pointed at Chad.

"Hello folks at home, I'm Chad Williams and this is the_ Chad Williams Hour, _and we're here live with Alex, the newest member of the Teen Titans." Chad said as Alex waved sheepishly, adding a small smile and nervous giggle. Chad turned to Alex and smiled, "Hi Alex, how are you?"

"I'm fine" She answered, nodding, "Nervous... but fine."

"Yeah... you look nervous." Chad chuckled, "Why?"

"Well, to be honest, I've never done anything like this before..."

"Oooh... a virgin. Even better." Chad joked. Alex laughed along, albeit half heartedly. "Well, before we begin Alex, the folks at home should know a little about your powers, so tell us Alex, what can you do?", Chad asked. Alex cleared her throat before speaking.

"Well, my power is intangibility. In simpler terms, I can phase through solid objects."

"Like the Flash when he vibrates his molecules through solid objects?", Chad asked, referencing the Speedsters power. Alex chuckled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, becoming more comfortable.

"I always thought it was more like Shadowcat from X-Men.", Alex said.

"Are the Titans going to suffer a lawsuit from Marvel for copyright infringement?", Chad asked jokingly. Alex smiled.

"Only if I start calling myself Shadowcat, but even if I did I don't think Stan Lee would do that.", Alex said.

"Mind giving the folks at home a demonstration?", Chad asked.

Alex smiled shyly before saying, "Alright.". She then stood up, and simply walked backwards, through her chair. Chad and the crew working the cameras began clapping while Alex bowed. "But that's not all I can do.", she said before placing a single finger on Chad's chair, which he fell through with a surprised yelp. The camera crew, and Chad himself began laughing. "Well I guess the jokes on me.", Chad said, standing up then re-taking his seat when Alex took her seat again.

"Well I'm sure the Titans are glad to have you on the team." Chad said.

Alex smiled halfheartedly before saying, "By the way, I'm not a Teen Titan,"

"Hm?"

"I'm not a Teen Titan... I'm just kind of hanging out with them for now." Alex answered.

"Oh really? How's that working out for you?" Chad asked.

"Pretty good," Alex nodded, getting over her nerves little by little. "They're all fun. I like it."

"What about the rumors?"

Alex furrowed her brows, "What rumors?"

"That you and Raven hate each other." Chad answered.

Alex immediately looked over at Raven who was standing behind the cameras. Did Raven really hate her? She didn't think so. Alex looked down sullenly for a second.

"Well, I don't hate Raven. Actually, I kind of look up to her..." She said the second part a little lower, harder to hear. "And as for Raven herself...I hope she doesn't hate me."

"So you're saying, don't believe every rumor you hear?"

"Exactly."

"What about the rumors that Beast Boy and Raven are together?"

Alex's eyebrows rose until they practically flew off her face. Not being able to control herself, she burst out laughing.

Curiosity piqued, "What's so funny?" Chad had to ask, but not without being able to hold back his own smile as Alex continued laughing.

"I'm sorry—it's just, I—I can't really answer _for_ them" She said through her laughter, "But I can't imagine them being together—I mean, unless they're secretly hooking up in a closet or something." Alex continued laughing.

Raven face-palmed. Alex just _had_ to say something like that. And Robin just _had_ to set Alex up with an interview with Chad Williams, the shark of media. When they got back, Raven was going to beat Robin.

"So, you're saying it's possible, then?" Chad raised a questioning brow.

"What?—No. That was just a joke. They're not together, trust me." Alex answered.

"Are you and Beast Boy an item?"

"No, me and the green bean are just friends."

"Then how do you know?" Chad challenged.

"You just..._know._" Alex answered, getting annoyed.

"Okay, okay. Enough of that, lets move on to you. We only have so much time, after all." Chad offered, realizing Alex's anger rising.

"Okay." She agreed.

"What are you afraid of?" He asked.

"Heights." Alex blurted out. Chad started laughing, along with a few people behind the cameras. Alex looked around, confused. "What's so funny?" It was her turn to ask.

"Heights? Really? It's just so..._mundane_."

"Yeah?..."

"You are a hero, after all."

"I'm not really a hero..." Alex said, looking away.

"Oh? What are you then?"

"I'm just...Alex." She answered with a shrug, looking back into his blue eyes.

He nodded in understanding even though Alex was sure he really didn't understand, "Well, how long have you been saving people?"

"A while, I guess. It's different from the Titans, though. I never went looking for people in trouble; I would just save people I happened to run into who were in trouble." She explained as she stared at the armrest.

"Isn't that what hero's do?" Chad asked, slightly confused.

"A hero is someone who is admired for being brave and noble. I am neither." Alex suddenly found a string sticking out of the armrest very interesting and started playing with it.

"Is that really what you believe?" Chad asked.

Alex shrugged, finally looking back at him, "It's the truth."

"Alex, I'm going to play a recording for you." He said and waved his hand in the air, indicating a go for the recording to start.

"_911, what's the emergency?"_

"_Hi, um, you can trace calls, right?" A girl over the phone asked._

"_Yes—miss, are you alright?"_

"_Well, I'm in the house of that—uh, what was he called again?" She asked someone apparently close to her, "Oh! Thanks, the Riverside Rapist. Except there's two of them-"_

"_Miss! Are you alright?" The receptionist asked, worried._

"_No, no. I'm fine. The girls with me are fine, except one that we found in some kind of torturing room. I'm going to bring them all to a hospital—"_

"_Wait, the police are on their way. Where did you say the two culprits were?"_

"_Oh, they're stuck. Don't worry though, they won't be hard to find."_

Alex sat quietly as she listened to the tape. Chad looked over at Alex as soon as the tape was done, "Well...? Was that you?"

Alex started at Chad for a moment before finally saying, "...Do I _seriously _sound like that?" Chad chuckled.

"I knew it was you! Too many coincidences for it not to be. Why don't you tell us the story?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I think we've got enough time."

"Alright... I was in Tennessee..."

_Flashback_

_Alex was walking down the street, holding her backpack on her shoulder when she heard a commotion coming from up the street. Running to it, she noticed a guy trying to push a struggling girl into a green van._

Well, that isn't good. _Alex thought, running up to the struggle. She quickly kicked the man in the gut, watching him double over._

"_Are you okay?" She turned around to ask the girl. _

_But before the girl could answer, another man who looked exactly like the one she had just kicked stepped out of the van and threw the screaming girl into the van. Alex sprang into action and threw a punch towards his jaw, but he grabbed her hand, throwing her away. Suddenly both men were facing her, a scowl on one face but a nasty grin on the other._

"_She's feisty, Rob. I like her." The one with the grin said._

"_We have to take her anyway, she saw us!" Rob cracked his knuckles._

_The other's grin widened, "She'll go great with the others, don't you think?"_

There are more?_ Alex thought worriedly looking in between the two twins. _I can't just leave them there...

XXX

"So, that's when you decided to let them catch you?" Chad reiterated for her.

"Yeah. I mock-fought them for a bit before I let them throw me in the van. Then I guess for precaution, they drugged me. Which wasn't fun at all..." Alex continued

_Flashback_

_Alex awoke slumped over in a sitting position in a darkened room with a pounding headache. She heard quiet cries and whispers of anguish, until someone called out a little too loud for Alex's liking, "You're awake!"_

_Alex groaned and tried to rub her head, only to realize both her wrists were shackled to the wall. She groaned again, looking around the room. It was dark, but just light enough to see that there were four more girls, each shackled to a different wall, except the girl Alex tried to save earlier was sitting a few feet away from Alex chained to the same wall._

"_I thought you'd be passed out all day...night...whatever it is," The girl next to her said. Alex simply shrugged and squinted as she peered into the one source of light in the room. _

"_What's your name?" Alex asked._

"_Rachel." She replied, and motioned towards the rest of the group, "That's, Laura, Wendy, and Whitney."_

"_I'm Alex." Alex introduced herself, looking between all the girls. "And I'm going to save you today."_

"_Yeah?" Wendy snorted between her tears. "And how do you plan on doing that when you were captured yourself? Rachel told us the story."_

"_Well, for starters, I let myself get caught. Secondly, I've got this on my side..." Alex said, trying to phase through the shackles. All it got her was a sharp pain through her head, causing her to yelp out in pain._

"_Great, now we've got a crazy one, too." Wendy retorted. _

"_No, I don't know what's wrong... it must be whatever they drugged me with." Alex replied, deep in thought. All she could think to do was to try again. Taking a deep breath and concentrating as hard as she could on the shackles, she groaned in pain as she slowly pushed her way through. After finally breaking through, she had to pause and take a few deep breaths to regain herself._

"_Whoa..." Rachel, Wendy, and Whitney said at once. Laura seemed to be in her own world, crying._

_After catching her breath, Alex walked over to Rachel, "You ready?"_

"_But... it looks like it hurts you." Rachel said, shaking her head._

"_Doesn't matter. We have to get out of here." Alex countered, grabbing Rachel's hands. Alex grunted with pain as she began phasing Rachel through the shackles, bringing on another pounding headache. After Rachel was standing, she moved on to Wendy, "Ready?" Alex asked, a little out of breath. Wendy nodded mutely. Alex repeated the process with Wendy, and then Whitney. Then she moved over to Laura, who screamed out as soon as Alex put her hands on her._

"_No! Don't touch me!" She screamed, trying to back further into the wall._

"_It's alright—"_

"_That's what Sam said, then he took her away." Laura cried._

"_Who's Sam?" Alex asked._

"_She was here before you two were brought in." Whitney said, looking at the ground, "He took her away right before you got here."_

"_He takes us one at a time. A new one arrives right after one is taken away. Sam kept saying it'd be okay, but it's not. He tortures you, rapes you, kills you, then dumps you by the river. That's why they call him the Riverside Rapist." Laura said, new tears forming. "And I'm next."_

"_Laura? Look at me. Everything _will_ be okay. I'm going to get us out of here, and I'm going to find Sam. Just trust me, alright?" Alex said, looking Laura in the eyes. Laura finally closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "Alright." Alex said, getting Laura out of her shackles. _

"_Now what?" Wendy asked. "We're locked in here. You're a sweaty mess. Can you get us all out?"_

_Alex glanced over at Wendy; she really wasn't a big help. It was true, Alex was sweating. Using her powers so much under the haze from whatever the twins had given her had been more of a strain than she had anticipated. "No." She answered, "I'm going to go outside the door and unlock it for all of you, that'll be easier."_

"_A-and just leave us in here?" Whitney asked, unsure of the plan._

"_I don't think I can get us all through, it's the best plan I've got."_

"_What if he comes back?" Laura asked meekly._

"_I'll just be right outside the door; I'll see him and take care of him." Alex assured. She walked through the door, feeling the pounding in her head subside a little, but the strain was still there. After she made it to the other side, she looked at the locks on the door._

"_Man, these guys must be pretty paranoid..." She muttered, looking at the two padlocks coupled with a sliding lock. She quickly looked around the small hallway for some keys. Noticing a small desk, she violently opened the drawers and emptied them out, finding nothing of use. Sighing, she turned around..._

_...To look right into one of the eyes of one of her captures. "_You_? How did you get out?" he asked, scowling._

_Rather than answering, Alex tackled him to the ground, knocking the breath out of him. Before he had a chance to breathe again, Alex punched him square in the jaw again and again, until he was unconscious. As she got up, she noticed something shining on the ground. Alex picked it up, realizing it was a key and it must have fallen from the man's pocket during the ruckus. Searching his pockets for another key, she came up empty. She unlocked one of the padlocks and undid the sliding lock._

"_You guys, I undid some of the locks but there's one more." She called through the door. "I think the other guy has it, I'm going to go get it, okay?"_

"_Other guy? There's more than one?" She heard through the door._

"_I don't have time—" She sighed, resting her head on the door. "Rachel, can you explain?"_

_"Yeah." Rachel called back, "We heard a fight... are you okay?"_

"_I'm fine. I'll be back!" Alex called, running down the hallway, opening every door she could find. Finally, after running down some stairs, Alex found a small hallway with only one door. Hearing some stifled screaming, Alex knew this had to be the right place. She ran towards the door, kicking it in. A man who had just been huddled over a terrified girl, razor blade in hand, suddenly turned around to see Alex. _

"_You! How did you get here?" He growled, stepping away from the terrified girl, who was chained to a chair with cuts and bruises all over her exposed skin. Alex simply glared back at him, too angry to come up with a reply. "Billy sure is gonna be sore when he finds out I killed his favorite."_

_"Billy isn't really in the equation anymore." Alex couldn't resist from saying, figuring out that this was Rob._

_Rob growled and thrust his razor blade forward, catching Alex off guard and cutting her upper arm, causing her to yelp in pain. Alex glared back at a smirking Rob and kicked the blade out of his hand. This caused him to go off balance, giving Alex the upper hand as she kicked him in the gut, and then finally his temple, effectively knocking him out. After he fell to the floor, Alex searched his pockets, finding the key she was looking for. She then turned to the girl who was chained to the chair, phasing her out of the chains._

"_I'm Alex. I know you've been through a lot, but I'm here to get you out of here." Alex said, getting her up. _

"_I—I'm Sam." She replied, softly._

"_Can you walk, Sam?" Alex asked, setting her up on her feet. As soon as Sam took a step forward, she started to fall over. Alex picked her up bridal style and began her walk back to the other captives._

_By the time she arrived back, Billy had already awakened. Alex smiled at how she left him; hands and feet stuck in the ground. _

Let's see how _he_ likes it. _She thought._

"_Alright, Sam, I'm going to lean you up against the wall, okay?" Alex said and Sam nodded. Alex opened the last lock and opened the door, looking at the relieved faces of the other captives._

"_Alex, thank god you came back. He's been screaming for a while and it's been scaring us..." Whitney said._

"_Don't worry about him; he's stuck there for a while." Alex said, "Shall we get going?"_

"Yes!" _Wendy exclaimed, walking past Alex only to turn and see Sam. "Oh my god..."_

"_We have to get her to a hospital." Alex said. "Her cuts are pretty deep."_

"_Did they?..." Rachel began asking, but couldn't finish._

"_I don't they had time." The girls shared a sigh of relief._

"_We need to get out of here." Laura said. "I can't stand it here."_

_Alex nodded, picking Sam back up, "Let's go."_

_They eventually made their way to the garage, finding keys to the same green van that had aided in the abduction of them all. After Alex put Sam in the back where Laura, Wendy and Whitney sat, she decided to go back into the house._

"_Where are you going?" Rachel asked from the driver's seat._

"_There's something we should probably do." Alex said, walking back into the house with Rachel following close behind._

_Picking up the phone, she dialed 911. After the conversation, she got back into the car, realizing her backpack was in the front seat of the car. She feigned a sigh of relief. _

"_They must have left it in here..." She muttered to herself, making Rachel look her way questioningly when she started the car, finally leaving that awful place behind. "Nothing."_

"_Alex, you're bleeding..." Rachel noticed Alex's torn jacket._

"_Oh, I'm fine. Just get us to the hospital."_

"_Something tells me you aren't going to stick around."_

"_Something tells me you're a good guesser."_

"_What do you want us to say? Some masked hero came along and saved us all?"_

_Alex snorted, "If that's what you want, sure."_

"_You know, Alex...thanks. If it weren't for you...god knows what would have happened."_

"_You're welcome." Alex said, watching the passing scenery._

XXX

"So that's the story, huh?" Chad asked, after Alex quieted down.

"Pretty much, yep."

"You really helped those girls, Alex. You really are a hero."

She merely shrugged, "Anyone in my situation would have done it."

"I've got to ask though... were you aware that Sam—the one you rescued from being tortured—committed suicide nearly two months ago?" Chad asked, the slightest of smirks playing at his lips.

"I...what?" Alex shook her head, unable to wrap her head around the information. Raven narrowed her eyes, glaring at Chad.

"She took her own life, unable to live with the memories. Unable to live with the scars they'd given her." He continued.

Alex looked down, unable to look him in the eyes, "No. I didn't know that."

"Do you think if you had gotten there sooner, things might have turned out different?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What? No! I—"

"You said yourself; you were incapacitated from the drugs."

"Drugs that they had put in me involuntarily—"

"But you admit you weren't the best you could be? That Sam might not have taken her life if you would have gotten to her sooner?"

"I—I..."

Raven hated Chad for doing this to Alex; just like she was upset with Robin for setting up this interview with him. She couldn't bear watching anymore. She started making her way towards the set. A few people silently tried to stop her, but a glare sent their way quickly stopped them.

"Raven!" Chad chuckled nervously as she stood by an equally surprised Alex, "What a surprise!"

"This interview is over." Raven announced, looking down at Alex who was still too stunned to say anything, "We're leaving."

"But we're not _done_ yet." Chad said, furrowing his brows, obviously upset.

Raven snapped her head back towards Chad, "Alex saved those girls. _All _of them. That poor girl's death has nothing to do with her." She said, venom dripping from every word before turning back towards Alex and grabbing her by the hand, "Come on, Alex." Ravens soul self flared up around them and the two girls disappeared.

Raven and Alex silently got into the T-car and drove away. After about 5 minutes of more silence, Raven heard Alex sniffle. She glanced over and saw what looked like Alex wiping away a tear. Oh, no. She was _crying_? Raven wouldn't have any of that.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Startled, Alex jumped a little. "I'm fine." She managed.

Raven paused, waiting if Alex would continue. When it was clear she wouldn't, she said, "Except you're not."

Alex turned to Raven, surprised, before looking back down sullenly. "I should have gotten to her faster."

Raven suddenly pulled the car over—having cut off a few cars in the process, Alex noticed, slightly frightened. Raven turned the car off with a sigh. Turning towards a very confused Alex she said, "You did the best you could."

"Yeah. That's my point; I'm not good enough..." Alex turned towards the window, staring out into the night before muttering almost so Raven couldn't hear, "Just someone else I couldn't save."

"Whether you believe it or not, you did a good thing." Raven insisted, while Alex just continued staring out the window. "Alex." Raven said, trying to get through to her, "Not many people have the ability to do what you did. You _saved_ her life. _She _was the one who ended it. What that girl did, almost two years after the fact, has nothing to do with you."

Alex sighed and turned towards Raven, not able to look her in the eyes. "I guess you're right. But I still feel like crap."

"I know. It'll get better." Raven assured, turning the car on. "Now let's get back. I bet Cyborg's making brownies or something in celebration."

Alex snorted, "Celebration of what? I completely bombed that."

"Actually, I was talking about me telling Chad off. Did you see the look on his face?" Raven smirked, glancing at Alex.

Alex's brows knit in surprise, but she couldn't keep the small smile from gracing her lips. "Yeah, it was kind of priceless, wasn't it? Hey..." Alex began, wondering if she was going too far, "Why did it seem like he didn't like you though, before the thing started."

Raven nearly scowled, "We went on a date once."

"Dear god_, why?"_ Alex asked, exasperated.

"Once upon a time, he appeared charming." Raven explained, "five minutes into dinner I realized that mistake."

"He does have that weird, charming smile." Alex nodded in agreement.

"It's just a façade." Raven replied. "He's really an arrogant, hypocritical, sexist, lyi—" She interrupted herself when she heard Alex's soft laughter. Raven suddenly realized she was ranting and began gently laughing herself.

Alex opened her eyes, surprised as she listened to Raven's laughter with a grin plastered on her face, "Hey, you're laughing. I like it." She said. Of course, this immediately made Raven stop, looking across at Alex as her smile faded.

"Why do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" She asked, in her monotone voice.

Alex shrugged as she thought for a moment before looking Raven in the eye, "Because everyone deserves to smile, Raven. Even you—_especially _you. Besides, it really made me feel better. Thanks."

Raven looked into Alex's eyes and saw every ounce of sincerity that was in them. The next thing she knew, she felt herself leaning forward, embracing Alex. Alex, to say the least, was very surprised with the sudden, yet somewhat awkward hug from Raven. Alex felt herself blush from the sudden contact.

Raven, also blushing—from Alex's words _and_ her sudden embrace—quickly retracted back to her seat. She cleared her throat, looking forward, with hands on the steering wheel. Alex, sensing the tension rising, said, "So, how about we get back? I could use some of those brownies right about now..."

"Weren't you eating chocolate all afternoon?" Raven asked, pulling back into traffic.

"There's no such thing as too much chocolate, Raven. By the way, is it true that you don't like chocolate?" Alex asked, unconvinced.

"I'm not a big fan, no." She answered.

"See, now I _know_ you're lying."

"What?"

"_Everyone _likes chocolate."

"I just said I'm not a big fan."

"Have you tried white chocolate?"

"No."

"There! How can you say you don't like chocolate if you haven't even tried it all?"

"Did you know that white chocolate isn't technically even considered chocolate at all? By the FDA standards, it needs to have—"

"Psh, you and your 'technicalities' and 'standards'. I'm going to make you try some, Raven. Mark my words." And Raven knew that this was the beginning of something that she was probably going to regret.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Show Us Your Success - A Smile From The Trenches.<em>

_There you have it._

_Sorry, Chad Williams just seems like a douchey name to me :s. Sorry to any Chad Williams out there..._

_Anyway, review plawks? I give you pixel cookiess...they the best kiiiiinnndddd...:D  
><em>


	7. Dear Maria, Count Me In

_Thanks to my Beta Reader Darth Azrael, and my readers and reviewers! :)) _

_I'm going to try and upload twice a week? Don't know if I can keep up with that pace but I'll try..._

_Anyway, on with the chapter!  
><em>

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or the songs I use._

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Maria, Count Me In<strong>

Alex sighed dramatically as she watched the TV alone one day in the Titans Tower, with Raven sitting in the adjacent chair. Everyone else, apparently, was busy doing their own thing, and Alex was just plain bored. Sighing again, Alex changed positions in the chair to watch the TV upside down to see if that would make it anymore entertaining.

It just made her feel dizzy.

Sighing _again, _she looked at the Game Station and had a brilliant idea, but then frowned once she realized she had no one to play with.

She glanced over at Raven, who seemed to have somehow read her mind because she immediately said, "No," flipping a page of her book.

"Aw, but Raven—" Alex started, sitting upright

"No."

"You know you want to..."

"No, I don't. Leave me alone."

"But it's more fun with two people..." Alex whined.

"Go get someone else."

"But they're all busy."

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"But you can read whenever you want. Come on, I'm _so bored."_

"That sounds like a personal problem."

Alex huffed in her seat for a second, like she had given up. After a few moments of quiet fuming, she continued to whine, "_Raven_..."

"_No._"

"Fine. I'll just sit here and watch TV then." Alex huffed again, crossing her arms as she stared at the screen in front of her.

A few moments passed as the two did their own thing before Raven had to ask, "Can't you just play by yourself?"

"It's not as much fun." Alex answered.

Nodding, Raven once again began reading before a sliver of guilt began gnawing itself inside her. She tried to ignore it until she glanced up at Alex and noticed how she looked absolutely _adorable_ with the way she was pouting, arms crossed and sunk into the sofa.

...But there was no way she just thought that.

Sighing, she walked over to Alex and sat next to her, picking up a controller on her way. "How do you work this thing."

Alex gasped in shock, _"Really_? What game do you want to play?" She asked, not being able to hold back her grin.

Raven raked her eyes over the games in front of her and stopped as soon as she saw _Zombie Hunter 4_, "That one." She pointed.

Alex chuckled, "Good choice." She said, putting it in, "Now, do you want to be on the same team or against each other? Either way we're kind of against each other, because we're going for more points. But if we're _literally _against each other we try to kill each other."

"Same team." Raven answered. She never played before; she didn't want to see the wrath of Alex against her.

Alex smirked, "Good choice." She said as she showed Raven which buttons did what, "Remember, this shoots, _this _blocks. I got those two confused for the longest time."

"Got it."

"Ready?"

"Yeah."

"You _sure?"_

"Yes."

"Okay. Kill as many zombies as you can...and...go!" Alex said, pressing the 'start' button on her controller, and the game started, immediately sending a wave of zombies towards their virtual characters. "You realize that I'm on the right, and you're on the left, don't you?"

"...Yes."

"Okay." Alex chucked. A few more moments passed by and the sounds of shots and zombies being slain were heard, before Alex looked over and saw Raven's health, "No, ahh, Raven. Don't die; I come save you..." She said in a playful voice, as she sent her character to heal Raven's. "No! Ah! What are you doing! Don't shoot me!"

"...You looked like a zombie." Raven replied sheepishly as the screen flashed **PLAYER 1 DEAD**.

Alex bowed her head and sighed, "That's okay. I had a bonus so I should be revived in a few seconds. Just don't. Shoot me."

"Okay." Raven said

Alex revived a few moments later and stayed in the same corner as Raven's character as they shot at the zombies. As Alex looked over at Raven's screen, she realized that Raven was barely hitting any zombies at all, and was practically dying again. She had to giggle.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Nothing." Alex replied, before another softer laugh escaped.

"_What_?" Raven persisted.

"You just...kind of suck at this, you know?" Alex answered, still giggling.

Raven's face fell. The only reason she was even doing this was to make Alex happy, and that's what she gets out of it? Raven quickly lifted a hand off her controller and waved it in the air, concentrating on Alex's controller as it was surrounded in a black aura before it was whipped out of Alex's hands and thrown across the room. Satisfied, Raven went back to playing the game with a smirk on her lips.

Alex, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded. With wide eyes, she looked over at Raven, and saw the smirk playing at her lips, "Hey!" Alex called out, though not being able to hold back a grin, surprised that Raven would do such a thing, "That's cheating! You are such a cheater."

Raven seemed to completely ignore Alex's name-calling and continued the game, so Alex reached over and grabbed Raven's controller and phased it away from her grasp. Shocked, Raven looked over at Alex who was grinning from ear to ear, wagging the controller she just stole.

By now, the screen was blinking **PLAYER 1 DEAD; PLAYER 2 DEAD.**

"Give it back." Raven warned, narrowing her eyes.

"No." Alex continued grinning. "Not until you admit you're a cheater."

Raven growled and reached for the controller, only for Alex to lean back out of her reach. Raven scooted closer, and Alex leaned back farther away, still grinning. Sitting back, Raven glared at Alex as she waved the controller back and forth tauntingly. Raven wondered if it was really worth it. Then she saw the smirk playing at Alex's lips, and decided that yeah, it really was. Raven practically tackled Alex on the couch, and tried to grab it out of Alex's hands. However, shocked by being tackled, Alex dropped the controller on the floor. Raven, still on top of Alex at the time, realized this and looked down at Alex, who was still in shock that Raven _tackled her. _They both looked at each other and blinked before they raced off the couch and grabbed for the controller, only for Alex to reach it first.

"Ha! Ahh!" Alex said, as Raven once again tackled her, reaching for the controller, "No! Admit it! You cheated!" Alex laughed.

"Give it!" Raven reached again, laughing softly. Raven was actually having _fun._ And laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that light-hearted.

"Never!" Alex said, still laughing. Every time Raven reached for the controller, Alex would phase it through the ground, and then bring it back out to tease Raven into reaching for it again.

"_Ahem_..." They heard, and quickly looked over to see an amused Cyborg, an awestruck Beast Boy, and a smirking Robin.

Raven blushed and immediately off of Alex, clearing her throat she said, "She started it." Pointing down at Alex.

Alex got up as well, blushing; she did a double take, "_What_? You're the one who cheated!"

"Oh...my...god..." Beast Boy started. "You got Raven to play a video game!"

Alex just cleared her throat while Raven developed into her soul self and disappeared.

"Well...that wasn't weird." Cyborg smirked.

"No. No it wasn't." Alex replied still blushing, wishing she could disappear much in the same way Raven did.

XXX

Later that afternoon the group decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and go to the park with Titans East. Alex, having never met anyone from Titans East before, finally met Bumblebee, Aqualad, Speedy, and Mas y Menos.

"It's nice to finally meet the almighty Alex," Speedy grinned charmingly, grabbing Alex's hand and giving it a quick peck.

"Uh...nice to meet you too..." Alex said, slowly pulling her hand away.

"Please ignore him; he flirts with everything that moves." Bumblebee said, rolling her eyes. When Speedy's hands began to wander further upward, Bumblebee smacked his hands and said, "Hands to yourself snowbird." Speedy whipped around and held his face inches from Bumblebee's.

"Don't you _ever_, call me that again.", Speedy said with acid in his voice before storming off. Alex thought about what a snowbird was, then gasped.

"He was a—", was all she got out before Bumblebee cut her off,

"He doesn't like to talk about it, was a dark part of his life. He told me that in confidence, and I shouldn't have called him that." Bumblebee said*. "Sorry about his flirting though", she said.

"Sounds kind of familiar." Alex said, glancing at Beast Boy.

"What?" Beast Boy asked innocently, rubbing the back of his neck, catching her glance.

"Nothing." Alex giggled.

"Yo, who's up for a game of football?" Cyborg called, tossing a football into the air.

All the guys immediately save for Aqualad jumped in, "Maybe next time." Aqualad said as he waved everyone off, walking away. Everyone just shrugged and waved him goodbye.

"You know I'm not missing a chance to beat the crap out of these morons." Bumblebee said, motioning towards the guys.

"I would enjoy a game as well. I think I am finally starting to understand your rules." Starfire nodded.

"Alright, that makes the teams even." Cyborg said.

Robin and Bumblebee were respective team leaders, picking their teams. In the end Robin had Starfire, Mas, and Beast Boy, while Bumblebee had Cyborg, Speedy, and Menos.

Alex and Raven sat quietly at a bench while they watched the others play. "Oh-ho! Beast Boy just got owned by Menos!" Alex laughed, "Who knew he had it in him?"

Raven, who was barely paying any actual attention to the game, looked over at Alex who was cheering both teams on and laughing.

"And..._Touchdown _for Cyborg!" Alex cheered, getting up from her seat and clapping wildly. Cyborg noticed and grinned from ear to ear, even doing a Touchdown jig for a moment. The others laughed at his antics.

"Lucky break!" Robin said, Cyborg just snorted in response.

After Alex cheered for a few more minutes, Raven looked over and asked, "Why don't you just go play?"

Alex looked like she was unsure for a moment, "I would make the teams uneven..." She said, before she had an idea, "Raven—"

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to _say._"

"I'm an empath, yes I do, and the answer is no."

"Okay...maybe you do. But it would be fun, come on..."

"No."

"You know you want to..."

Raven immediately flashed back to earlier that morning when Alex somehow convinced her to play a video game, and she somehow _did_ end up having fun. But she was also more humiliated than she could remember in her entire life.

"_No._"

Alex sighed, "Fine, I'll go see if I can find Aqualad and ask him to play."

Satisfied, Raven nodded as Alex got up and searched for Aqualad. It wasn't long until she felt a nagging feeling being to arise within her as she watched Alex walk away. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but whatever it may have been, she was sure she didn't like it. Soon enough, Raven grumbled to herself and walked up to Alex, who had by that time stopped in her tracks, and grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Fine." She mumbled.

Alex turned around, shock evident on her face, "Really?"

"Just _one_ game."

"Yay!" Alex resisted the urge to jump up and down, "Let's go join them." She said, walking next to Raven. She had trouble keeping pace with Raven as Raven walked normally, while Alex wanted to rush up to the group. After they reached the field, Alex and Raven walked up to Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Mas as they were in a small huddle, "Care for a couple more?"

Robin glanced up at Alex and then noticed Raven and did a double take, looking at her quizzically, "_Raven_?"

Raven just muttered something incoherent in response.

The rest of the group soon noticed her and looked at her quizzically, Mas even poked her in the leg, making sure she was _actually _there_,_ earning a small growl from Raven.

"Yo! What's the hold up?" Cyborg called from the other side of the field.

"Alex and Raven want to join!" Beast Boy called.

After the group across the field stared at Raven for a moment in quizzical silence, Cyborg called over, "Well one of y'all come on over here then!"

"Me!" Beast Boy volunteered quickly, raising his hand, "There's no way I'm missing a chance at this." He smirked, glancing at Raven, who just rolled her eyes as he made his way over to the other group.

Robin called for another huddle, "Alright, here's what we'll do. Since they have the ball again, we'll try to rush them and sack Cy. But keep yours eyes open for the ball, okay?" Everyone nodded. "Alright."

Everyone got into their positions with Raven crouching at the end across from Beast Boy who smirked evilly at her. Next to him was Speedy, who kissed in the air playfully towards Alex across from him, who just rolled her eyes in disgust. Next to her was Robin, pure determination in his eyes as he looked at Bumblebee across from him, and behind her was Cyborg ready to call for the ball. Next to Bumblebee was Menos, staring at an equally determined Mas, who was standing next to Starfire.

"Hut, hut, hike!" Cyborg called, reaching out for the ball. As soon as he got the ball, Alex knocked Speedy to the ground, shocking him with her prowess, and went straight for Cyborg. However, before she could reach him, she was tackled to the ground with an 'umph'.

Shaking her head, she opened her eyes to see an array of familiar violet-blue hair. "Raven." Alex called, and said girl lifted her head off of Alex's shoulder to look into her eyes, also with a confused look, "You know you're supposed to tackle the _other_ team, right?"

Raven's face fell. The last thing she remembered was a green blur and the feeling of being pushed. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "Beast Boy pushed me."

Alex chuckled, remembering earlier that morning when Raven had tackled her to the ground not only once, but _twice. _And all the times Raven and her had sparred, Raven had won and tackled her to the ground with a smirk on her face.

Alex smirked, "Or you just like being on top."

Raven's eyes widened. Did Alex say what she thought she heard? Alex's smirking lips confirmed that indeed, she did. Raven couldn't contain the blush that spread across her cheeks. Quickly regaining her composure, Raven leaned down and whispered into Alex's ear, "I always just figured you liked it that way." After saying that, Raven looked back at Alex, who looked like she was having trouble breathing, and had turned red. Mistaking it for her weight, Raven quickly got off and offered Alex a hand up.

"I'm okay." Alex said, clearing her throat, though her face was still red.

"Oh, I just came over to see if the two of you were alright, you were down for an awfully long time." Starfire said. "I was wondering if you needed any assistance, but you seem alright."

"Yeah...we're fine." Alex said, nervously combing her fingers through her hair.

"We are taking a break from the Earthly game for dinner, would you like to join us?"

"Sure. That sounds great."

"Wonderful! I shall go tell the others that you are joining us." Starfire said, clasping her hands together as she walked off towards the group, who had already began taking out the food from the picnic baskets.

Alex began following Starfire until she felt something randomly patting on her rear end. Looking behind her curiously, she saw Raven caught red handed with an outstretched hand. "Uh?..."

"...You have grass on you." Raven answered, looking away awkwardly.

"Oh. Thanks." Alex said trying to pat it off herself.

"No, you missed some." Raven said, swatting Alex's hand away. Reaching down she swatted the rest of the grass away.

"Thanks..." Alex said, trying to hide her blush.

"Yeah."

"Well, if you two are finished _groping_ each other, can we eat now?" Beast Boy asked with a smirk as he walked up.

Alex and Raven immediately froze before Alex glared, "_What_?"

"Raven was totally grabbing your ass just then." He said wiggling his brows, "Hot."

"No—she—I—" Alex stuttered, before she huffed, "It doesn't even matter."

"So you _admit_—"

"Go away before I hurt you." Raven warned, eyes glowing white.

Beast Boy chuckled nervously before he ran off towards the rest of the group.

"See, why can't I have that effect on him?" Alex asked.

"It took _years_. It starts by calling him by his first name." Raven said.

"Which is?", Alex asked. Raven smirked.

"Garfield.", she responded.

"Hey guys! Guess what I just saw Raven doing to Alex!" Beast Boy shouted.

Alex face-palmed, "I'm going to kill him." She said and immediately ran towards him, "Beast Boy! Get over hear you idiot!"

The rest of the group watched in wonder as Alex chased Beast Boy around the field as he cried out every once in a while in submission while she yelled out threats.

"Stop running _Garfield_!" Alex huffed.

"Stop chasing me!" Beast Boy countered.

Raven wandered over to the group and watched Alex chase Beast Boy in amusement.

"...What's going on?" Robin asked in curiosity.

Raven simply shrugged as she took a bite out of a carrot that was lying out on a plate.

"Raven, for some reason, you eating that carrot reminds me of that time when we were all transformed into animals by Mumbo Jumbo and you were a rabbit." Starfire said, furrowing her brows in thought.

"You say that every time I eat a carrot, Star."

Alex happened to run by at this moment, catching what Starfire said. Not believing what she heard, she turned around and tried to catch her breath as she stood next to Raven, doing odd hand movements as she tried to act out what she was trying to say.

"You..._rabbit_?" Alex huffed out as she caught her breath. Raven just looked at her rather quizzically. Eventually Alex took a deep breath, "You were transformed into a _rabbit_?"

Raven's face fell at the memory, "Yes."

Alex tried her very, very hardest to keep her laughter in. But as she looked over Raven, who nearly always had an emotionless look on her face, and imagined her transformed into a cute fluffy rabbit, with ears and paws and fur, and she just couldn't hold it in any longer. Holding on to the table in front of her for support, she began laughing hysterically. She even _snorted._

"It's really not that funny." Raven said.

"I'm—I'm sorry." Alex said through her laughter. "You must have been so _adorable_!"

"Indeed she was!" Starfire agreed, nodding vigorously.

"Shouldn't you be chasing Beast Boy?" Raven asked, trying to change the subject.

"He morphed into a bird and flew away..." Alex said, still grinning. "Anyway, someone _please_ tell me the story. I want to know everything about this."

Raven rolled her eyes, while Cyborg volunteered to tell the story as everyone ate their dinner. Laughter rang around the table as he told what animals the Titans were turned into and that Beast Boy wasn't an animal at all. During the rest of the story everyone was hanging on every word Cyborg had to say.

"That must have been awesome." Alex said at the end of the story, before she quirked her head to the side in thought, "I wonder what animal I would have been, though."

"A platypus." Beast Boy offered. He had come back halfway through the story and began digging into his dinner.

Alex's face fell, "Really? That's all you've got?"

"Perhaps an eagle, because that is your favorite animal." Starfire suggested.

Alex shrugged, "That would be pretty cool I guess..."

"A red kite." Raven suddenly offered.

"Uhh, Raven, I hate to burst your bubble, but we're talking about _animals_." Speedy said, waving towards Beast Boy, who rolled his eyes.

"A red kite is a _bird,_ douche bag. They're elegant and beautiful." He said as he morphed into one and ruffled his feathers. "See?"

Alex studied the medium sized bird and raised a curious brow, "You really think so, Raven?"

Raven shrugged and looked away, "It fits you."

Alex blushed as she realized Raven practically called her beautiful and elegant. "Thanks."

"Your welcome."

"Well, I still think she'd be a platypus." Beast Boy said before morphing back. "Because no one knows what the heck those are."

"Wait, you're saying no one knows what I am?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, who _knows_ what's hiding under that jacket." He joked.

Alex waved a dismissive hand, rolling her eyes, "Like I'd ever show you."

"Ooooo" The group called.

Beast Boy huffed before he suddenly smirked evilly, "I bet you'd show _Raven._" he said, wiggling his brows suggestively.

"_Whoa._ What's that supposed to mean?" Speedy asked, raising a curious masked brow.

"Can it snowbird. Beast Boy don't you da—" Alex started.

"I saw Raven groping Alex's ass!" Beast Boy exclaimed with a giant grin on his face before he darted away as Alex began chasing him.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Only if you can catch me!" He sing-songed.

Everyone else watched as an angry Alex chased a laughing Beast Boy around the field, before they all turned their attention to a blushing Raven.

"Uhh...I can explain."

XXX

Later that night at the tower the group minus Titans East went back to the Titan's Tower and Raven and Alex found themselves again alone in the common room.

"So..." Alex began.

"No."

Alex giggled, "I wasn't even going to ask you for anything this time. I just wanted to thank you for playing football earlier. It was fun. Besides, I don't think Aqualad would have played even if I asked him; he was busy."

"Was he?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. He was with his," Alex faltered for a moment, "Friend."

"He was making out with Steven again, wasn't he." It wasn't a question.

"Okay, so he's out?" Alex questioned. "I didn't want to say anything unless I knew other people knew..."

"Not specifically, but he's not keeping it a secret either."

"What? Who?" Beast Boy asked as he walked into the room, taking a seat next Alex.

"Aqualad." Raven and Alex said in unison.

"...Aqualad is _gay_?" Beast Boy questioned with wide eyes. Alex shrugged and nodded in response. "But, dude...we've like..._wrestled _before_._" Alex immediately began laughing at Beast Boy's expense, "Dude! That's not funny! What if he's into me!"

Alex continued laughing, "He apparently has a boyfriend, dude, so I wouldn't look too far into it."

"But...I'm irresistible! Look at these ears! And this smile! Any lady _or _guy is lucky to get away from my charms. How do I let him down easy?" Beast Boy asked, obviously quite upset.

"Um, what's going on?" Cyborg asked as he walked in.

"Beast Boy thinks Aqualad has a crush on him." Raven explained.

Cyborg took a moment to digest this information before all he could think to ask was, "...Why?"

"Because they've wrestled before." Alex answered with a grin.

Cyborg bowed his head and sighed before he walked over in front of Beast Boy and said, "The guy's crazy for Steven. There's no way he likes you. In fact, I can't understand how _anybody_ would like you." He finished with a grin.

Beast Boy's face fell as he stared at Cyborg, "That's not cool."

Cyborg shrugged, "It's the truth, man."

Beast Boy just huffed. After a few minutes of silence, which was quite amusing for Alex and Cyborg, Beast Boy reached for one of the Game Station controllers and asked, "Who's up for a game?"

"You two go ahead, I'll just watch." Alex said.

"_Rave—_?" Beast Boy started asking.

"No."

"But you played with Ale—!"

"_No_."

"I bet if Alex asked you'd say yes." Beast Boy mumbled.

Alex just rolled her eyes while Raven completely ignored him and started to read her book.

"Give it up, green bean." Cyborg said as he grabbed the other controller and turned the game on.

"I at least want to know if she's any good!" Beast Boy complained.

Alex started giggling and refrained from saying anything while Raven sent a glare her way.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Dear Maria, Count Me In - All Time Low<em>

_Thanks for reading :) Review plawkkss._

_*for those of you confused by the snowbird reference, look up Snowbirds don't fly on wikipedia._


	8. Waking Up The Ghost

_As always, thanks to my beta reader Darth Azrael and my awesome readers and reviewers :)_

_howcaniforgetyou brought up a few good points, so I thought I'd point them out: as far as age, assume that most of the Titans are 17-19 and also, I imagined Chad Williams in his early twenties, so as far as Raven and him going on a date I'm not sure about you're view on age and dating but eh. Also, the Red Kite is a real bird, it's kind of like an eagle, except a little smaller. In my opinion it's just prettier. :)  
><em>

_Anyhow, now that that's settled, onward with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or any songs used._

* * *

><p><strong>Waking Up The Ghost<strong>

The next month had flown by with ease. That day, however, all hell was breaking loose.

"You can't make me go!" Beast Boy shouted.

"It's for your own good, man!" Cyborg said, trying to catch a running Beast Boy as he ran through the common room.

"No! With the drills, and the needles, and the smells, and the sadistic smiles! It's very bad!"

"Come on, it's probably been a while since you've had your teeth cleaned anyway." Alex said lazily watching from the couch. They were right, she'd gotten used to this sort of thing.

"I'll have you know my teeth are perfect and shiny and _clean_. I don't need to go to the dentist." Beast Boy countered.

"Why are you so afraid of them anyway? It's not like if your teeth are that healthy, they'll hurt you." Alex asked, getting off the couch and walking towards Beast Boy, who was currently a few feet from the glass overlooking the city.

"Because they are _sadists._ That's why."

Alex rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you're afraid of the dentist."

"Yeah... well... It's better than being afraid of heights!" Beast Boy countered, shoving Alex playfully towards the glass. Alex threw her arms out, trying to balance herself, but in the end, fell against the glass, looking down to the grown oh so far down below.

"Dammit, Beast Boy! I told you to stop doing that!" Alex shouted, immediately jumping back with a huff while Beast Boy laughed at her. After Alex's interview where she revealed her fear of heights, he'd been making fun of her as much as he possibly could.

"But it's so fun! How can _you_ be afraid of heights? It's like...Raven being afraid of the dark or something." Beast Boy laughed.

"We've been over this..." Alex ground her teeth together, "You know what? I hope the dentist yanks your teeth out. With no Novocain." She said, stalking out the door.

Raven walked onto the roof to find there was already an occupant; Alex was sitting against the ventilation system idly drawing on the ground. As soon as she heard Raven open the door, she looked up, greeting her somewhat sullenly, "Hey."

Sensing something was wrong, Raven asked, "What is it?"

"I hate that you're an empath sometimes." Alex sighed. "Beast Boy made fun of my fear of heights again." She pouted.

"So you come to the highest point of the Tower. Nice." Raven retorted.

"You know what they say about getting over your fears and such." Alex shrugged, still idly drawing on the ground before it became more violent. "Stupid Beast Boy." And finally she just started scribbling violently as she tried to imitate his voice, albeit exaggeratedly high, "'What's so bad about heights, Alex?' 'Why wouldn't you just fall _through_ the ground, Alex? What's to stop you from doing that?'" Alex began poking her finger angrily into the ground, "What if I'm unconscious? What then? _Splat!_ That's what then." Raven watched somewhat amusedly as Alex finished her rant. Alex looked up and noticed Raven still standing there, and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I know it's irrational."

"All phobias are irrational."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Alex challenged.

Raven sighed in an almost defeated manner, looking around the barren roof making sure no one else was there, "When I was little..." She began, looking anywhere but at Alex. "Iwasafraidofthedark." Raven blurted out quickly, uncharacteristically.

"You what?" The other girl asked confused.

Raven rolled her eyes, almost not about to answer until she looked into Alex's eyes. Mostly she saw curiosity, coupled with some amusement, but she also saw...caring. "I said... I was afraid of the dark." She repeated, albeit grudgingly. "If you repeat that to _anyone_, I will hurt you."

Alex tried to hold back her smile, and was failing horribly. She thought it was cute that Raven used to be afraid of the dark, honestly. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Besides, at least you grew out of it."

Raven finally walked over to Alex and sat down next to her. Alex noticed their how close their hands were to touching and felt butterflies in her stomach. Over the course of the last month she noticed her behavior changing like that whenever Raven was around. During their games of chess, she found herself staring at Raven longer when she was trying to read her expressions. She'd also do everything in her power to make Raven laugh or even smile. At first it was just a joke, but it became much more than that. Alex became intrigued by her laugh, and just couldn't get enough of her smile. And Alex had no idea _why._

"You probably will, too." Raven said, facing Alex.

Alex shook her head from her thoughts, "Hm? Oh... probably not."

"Why's that?"

Alex debated on explaining for a second, "When I was little, I was—I... I fell. From four stories high." Alex, said, holding four fingers up for emphasis, before snorting "The doctors said it was a miracle I survived."

Raven quirked a questioning brow, "How did it happen?"

"It's a long story." Alex replied, evading the question.

Raven nodded as a comfortable silence settled over them. After a moment she said, "You don't have to worry about falling anymore."

"What?" Alex asked, looking at Raven with confusion written all over her face.

Raven stood and walked back over to the door before turning around to face Alex again, "One of us will always catch you. I'll even keep an extra eye on you, if that's what it takes." She said, opening the door and making her exit, leaving a very stunned Alex behind.

Raven was satisfied that she had helped make Alex feel at least a little bit better. When did she start caring about when Alex was upset, anyway?

_Because everyone deserves to smile, Raven. Even you—especially you._

Oh, yeah.

Ever since then, Raven kept finding herself spending more time with Alex for no reason other than she simply _wanted_ to. It was rather perplexing.

Raven heard the door open and shut behind her as she descended the stairs. Turning around she saw Alex hurry to catch up to her. As soon as she caught up she began rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, "Thanks. That actually means a lot." She said before she began to relax, a mischievous glint appearing in her eye along with a grin. "Race ya back?" Raven just quirked a brow as if asking, 'seriously?' "Right. Of course not." Alex feigned a defeated sigh, and descending the stairs.

Raven suppressed a smirk while Alex walked past her, as she vanished in a black aura of magic. Alex turned around just in time to see the final flicks of the aura disappear.

"Wh—what? _Hey!_" Alex shouted at the spot where Raven just was, before making a bee-line to the common room.

Raven reappeared in the common room, just in front of her normal chair, startling Cyborg, sitting on the sofa watching TV, "Whoa, where'd you come from?"

Raven merely shrugged, sitting down, "What's on TV?"

"_You_ want to watch TV?" Cyborg questioned, surprised. Raven shrugged again, turning her attention to the screen. "Nothing really good. I was just about to go mess with the computers." He said. A few moments passed as they watched television.

The doors to the common room opened and rushed in an out of breath Alex, running up to Raven as soon as she put her eyes on her. "Oh, my god, you are such a cheater!" she laughed.

Cyborg looked over at Alex's outburst in between Alex, who was pointing an accusatory finger at Raven with a grin on her face, and Raven, who was still staring at the TV as if nothing happened. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Raven stated.

"Yeah!" Alex snorted, facing Cyborg "Like hell she doesn't. We were racing back, and she teleported here. Isn't that cheating? That's _so _cheating!" She explained, still grinning.

"Wait. Raven was racing? With you? Like, a game?" Cyborg scratched his head in confusion.

"That's not the point. The point is, she cheated." Alex reiterated.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about. I suddenly had something that needed to be taken care of, so I got here as fast as I could. End of story." Raven said, finally turning her attention to Alex.

Alex shook her head, laughing, "Whatever, Raven. You win _this_ round." She said, sitting down next to Cyborg.

A few more minutes passed of them watching TV before Cyborg said, "And for the record, she was just sitting here watching TV with me."

"I knew it!"

Suddenly the Titan alarm went off, and a few moments later Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy appeared in the common room. "Who is it?" Robin asked as they entered.

"It looks like Cavallo." Cyborg answered as the TV screen turned into a map of the city. "He's at some sort of high tech hospital that hasn't even opened yet."

"Let's go." Robin ordered, and everyone headed to the T-car.

XXX

Everyone walked down the halls of the vacant hospital on guard, waiting for attack. "Does anybody see anything?" Robin asked as he looked around.

"Not yet." Cyborg answered.

"Could this place _be _any creepier?" Alex asked as she took a peek through an opened door.

"What, scared of hospitals, too?" Beast Boy nudged Alex jokingly.

"I happen to have a _thing_ against hospitals." Alex clarified, glaring a back over at Beast Boy. He merely rolled his eyes in response.

"Oh, I guess that's better." The sarcasm rang in his voice.

"You know, I've seriously had it up to—!"

"Shh." Raven interrupted Alex's outburst.

"What? I'm sorry that I find hospitals creepy with their stupid smells how there's always _death_ hanging in the air." Alex continued.

"_Shh._" Raven motioned her head towards where the hallway careened around a corner.

"Oh." Alex mumbled as she and the Titans quickly made there way around the corner. Standing at the end of the hallway, with their back turned towards them was none other than Cavallo. Turning around he snorted a short laughter and cracked his neck, and then his knuckles as he looked at the Titans and Alex.

"Here it comes." Cyborg said.

"You ready?" Robin asked as Cyborg lifted his arm over his chest as it transform into a shield, reaching over him from head to toe.

Nodding, Cyborg answered, "Ready as I'll ever be." As the words left his mouth, Cavallo enclosed his fists and thrust his arms forward, creating all the lights in the hallway to go out in a wave one by one.

"It just became creepier." Alex muttered in the dark.

"Boo-ya! It worked!" Cyborg cried victoriously out from behind his shield. Cavallo simply tilted his head to the side, intrigued before he turned back around and ran away.

"What was that?" Alex asked as she looked around in the dark.

"He can do short bursts of EMP's." Beast Boy began to explain. "That's why Cy needed the shield."

"Oh." Alex said, rather impressed. "Well, if that's all then..." She finished, darting off in the direction Cavallo ran off to.

"Wait, Alex, that's _not _all!" Beast Boy called after her, before face-palming. "We should go after her." Suddenly a group of two dozen Slade bots surrounded them. "Aw man, where do they even _come_ from?"

"Where do they _ever_ come from?" Cyborg asked back, as the Slade bots formed a circle around the Titans.

Robin gave a round kick to one of the Slade bots that approached him, "Raven, Beast Boy, go help Alex. We'll catch up when we take care of this." He commanded.

Beast Boy and Raven nodded, fighting their way out of the circle to chase down Alex and Cavallo.

XXX

Alex decided she hated Cavallo. Not only had he made her run up 8 flights of stairs, but every time she'd even think about stopping for a breath of air, he'd turn around as if to mock her. She just _knew _he was smirking behind that stupid mask of his. She climbed the last flight of stairs and flung the door open, feeling the wind brush through her hair as she stepped onto the roof. Cavallo stood in the middle of the roof, seemingly waiting for her to step closer.

"Took you long enough." He finally said after she didn't move.

"Oh, so you _do _talk." She replied, tilting her head to the side as she began moving forward. What was it about his voice that sounded so strangely familiar?

"Of course I do." Cavallo shrugged as Alex got closer, be fore chuckling almost mockingly as he shook his head, "You really don't know who I am, do you?"

Alex took a step back out of shock. "No... should I?"

"Wow, you're even more stupid than I remember." He said, still shaking his head before he got into a fighting stance. "Maybe this will jog your memory." He held out his hands, a string of blue electricity shooting from each finger darting straight towards Alex. She barely managed a dodge roll out of the way, letting the electricity hit the door she'd just come through, melting the door handle.

_What was that! Some sort of jedi-sith power thing? _Alex frantically asked herself, "That doesn't help me at all!" She called out as she got back up.

"No, but this will." Cavallo said as he ran up to Alex, getting ready to strike. Again, Alex just knew he wore a smile behind that stupid mask of his, and it was driving her insane.

XXX

"Are you _sure_ they went this way?" Beast Boy panted as they reached the door to the rooftop. Raven only nodded in response. "I hope we got here fast enough."

"We would have been here faster if you didn't keep stopping for breaks." Raven stated, secretly worried about Alex.

"Easy for you to say! You can just fly your way up, I actually had to run!" Beast Boy complained. Raven simply rolled her eyes. Beast Boy mimicked her in response as he reached for the door handle, "Ow! That's hot!" He cried out.

"Wonderful." Raven commented. "Cavallo must not want any visitors."

"Well, can't you just, like, poof us to the other side?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head.

Raven sighed at the word 'poof', "I can't unless I've seen it."

"Oh... guess it's up to me then." Beast Boy grinned.

XXX

Alex dodged another electricity-charged punch, throwing a kick of her own. This continued as Alex started to lose her ground, backing up little by little as Cavallo gained his ground. During the fight, Alex pondered about who he could be. His moves were definitely familiar, but the answer that kept flashing in her mind made no sense what-so-ever. Cavallo interrupted her thoughts with a kick to her gut.

By the way, being kicked and shocked with electricity at the same time was no fun at all.

Alex fell to the ground with an 'oomph.'

"Pathetic." Cavallo stated, walking over to Alex.

_Then again, _Alex thought grudgingly, _it really does sound like him._ "Yeah, well, I'm just getting started." She grunted as she began to get up, only to be stopped as Cavallo grabbed her by the arms and lifted her up. Alex began phasing through, falling out of his grasp.

"Oh, no you don't." He said, shocking her. Alex screamed out in pain as she felt the electricity course through her body, stopping her from phasing through. "You don't remember me? Fine. Maybe _this _will jog your memory." He said, dragging her the rest of the way to the ledge of the building. Cavallo shoved his masked face in Alex's and whispered harshly, "That pathetic jacket of yours may be able to hide your disgusting image, but I know what it is you're hiding." He said as he dangled Alex's body over the edge.

Alex's eyes widened in shock, before a sudden realization hit her and she desperately tried to look through that mask of his, into his eyes. "John?..." She whispered almost too low to hear. Somewhere she heard a loud banging, and the clang of the door hitting the ground.

Alex suddenly felt herself being pushed over the edge of the building, "_No_!" she cried out at the top of her lungs as she clawed at Cavallo, but it was too late. She closed her eyes tight as she felt the wind fly past her hair, as her heart pounded in her chest. For a fleeting second, she didn't care what happened to her. Not now that she know who _he _was.

Suddenly she felt the wind stop, as two arms wrapped around hers. Alex poked an eye opened to see Raven carrying her back to the rooftop. As they reached the top, Alex noticed the rest of the Titans had gathered, but Cavallo was missing.

"Where is he?" Alex demanded as soon as they landed.

"Where's who?" Robin asked coyly.

"You know _who_, where'd he go?" Alex continued asking, looking all around the rooftop.

"He ran away as soon as he pushed you off..." Beast Boy explained.

"How can we find him again?"

"What's the rush?" Robin asked in the same tone.

"Dammit, Robin—I..." Alex trailed off, annoyed, "Just, never mind. Let's head back." She finished, shaking her head.

The ride back was unusually quiet. Raven stared straight ahead out the windshield as she tried to ignore the mixed emotions she felt coming from Alex, but they were too strong. Then she thought about Alex being pushed over the edge of the building. She almost didn't make it in time, and almost wasn't able to keep her word on what she'd said earlier. She was thankful she'd made it just in time, though the scream she heard from Alex was bone chilling and Raven didn't think she'd ever forget it.

As the arrived at the Tower, Alex avoided everyone and walked straight to the common room in silence. Robin followed her with purpose, as the rest of the Titans tagged along curiously. Before Alex could sit down, Robin demanded "Who is he?"

Alex was aware of her followers the entire time and found it quite irritating. "Who's _who_?" She asked as she turned around to face the Titans, repeating Robin's earlier tone, knowing he'd find it just as annoying as she did.

"Don't play games with me, Alex! I know you know who Cavallo is. I can see it in your eyes. _Who is he_?" Robin demanded again, stepping closer to Alex in a challenging pose. Alex snorted and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. Robin took another step forward and grabbed Alex's arm, shaking her. "He works for Slade, Alex! Do you understand what that means? Who _knows _what they could be planning! But the more we know about Cavallo, the more of an advantage we have, don't you see?" Robin's grip on Alex's arms tightened.

"Robin—" Starfire tried to interrupt.

"No! Why can't she just tell us who he is? Our _arch enemy_, Alex." Robin reminded.

Alex looked anywhere but in Robin's masked eyes as she felt tears begin to prickle in her own. "John. It's John." She managed barely above a whisper, "My brother."

Robin suddenly loosened his grip on Alex, letting her shrug away while Robin continued to stare ahead with an analytical look. Finally he turned to Alex, with an unreadable expression on his face, "Are you sure it's him?"

"He made it pretty clear." Alex answered with an unenthusiastic nod.

"Wait," Beast Boy interrupted, "I thought you said your family was dead?"

"My parents are. I thought he was too. Obviously I was wrong." Alex explained in monotone.

"How could you not of known it was your own brother?" Robin asked.

Alex glared at Robin, "He was wearing a costume and I didn't talk to him until today, how was I supposed to know?"

Robin nodded, seemingly accepting the answer before he continued asking, "Why's he working for Slade?"

"I haven't seen John since I was thirteen!" Alex finally exploded, throwing her hands in the air. "How am I supposed to know these things? Don't you think I have questions too? Like why he ran away from home? Why he left me there to take care of mom all by myself? When did he get his powers? Why he happens to be working for your _arch enemy!_ When he even decided to become a bad guy in the first place? I don't know any of these things! Don't you think I'd like to know?" Tears began to spill over. She sniffled and wiped an eye, "You know what? Whatever." She finished, pushing past Robin, who was too shocked to do anything, and out of the common room.

XXX

Raven made her way to the roof of the tower, knowing that's where Alex probably was. All of the emotions she felt from Alex on the way back suddenly made sense. She could only imagine the thoughts that must be running through Alex's head at the moment. Opening the door to the roof, she saw Alex in the same spot as before, leaning against the air vent. Only this time she was staring out into the city as the sun set to the west, casting shadows everywhere. Raven heard Alex's sniffles every once in a while, and went over to sit next to her. Alex was taken surprised by her presence, too enraptured in her own thoughts as she stared ahead of her. As soon as Raven sat down, Alex turned her head in the opposite direction. She'd never admit this, but she hated crying in front of other people. It made her feel weak.

"Hey." Raven started.

"Hi." Alex managed. She squeezed her eyes shut; knowing what was coming next, "Please don't ask me if I'm okay. I...I'm really not. I mean, I just found out my brother ditched me to take care of my mom _all by myself_—which apparently I failed at, by the way—he has _two _powers, he's a _bad guy_, and he works for your arch enemy!" Alex said, finally looking at Raven with a fresh wave of tears as she threw her hands in the air, exasperated, "I mean, how am I supposed to deal with that?"

Raven looked into Alex's eyes and saw how vulnerable she was, "You just take it one step at a time."

Alex nodded as she turned her head down, seemingly accepting the answer. A silence settled over them for a few moments while Alex picked at her fingernails and Raven looked over the city.

"Hah," Alex randomly blurted out with a sniffle. "I wonder if this means I'll get a second power too. You know?" She turned to Raven with a small, sad smile, "Like, maybe it'll be the opposite of intangible and I'll get concrete skin or something."

"You know, that's a possibility." Raven said, returning Alex's smile with a small one of her own. Alex saw it, and not being able to explain why, felt a certain relief. She had no idea what it was about Raven's smile that held so much power over her. Just her presence up here was making Alex feel better, and she was grateful for that.

That reminded her, "Oh, uh, by the way... thanks for, um... catching me." Alex said, clearing her throat as she looked back out into the now dark city. "When he pushed me."

Alex's scream rang in Raven's ear as the vision of Cavallo pushing her over the edge replayed in her head. Raven tried to shake it away, things like that happened nearly on a daily basis in her life. It was just the _scream_ that got to her. It twisted her heart and made it harder for her to breath.

Regaining her thoughts, Raven stated, "Like I told you, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Alex shook her head, "No, I mean it. I don't think you really get how much it means to me... and for a second when I was falling, I just felt like...I dunno..."

"What?" Raven pressed on.

"Nothing, never mind." Alex shut down.

Silence passed over them for a moment before, "Your life's worth saving, Alex." Alex looked over to see Raven had gotten up and already made her way halfway to the door.

As Raven left the roof, she missed the small smile that graced Alex's lips.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Waking Up The Ghost - 10 Years<em>

_There you gooo._

_Trying to add more plot now._

_Don't worry-I know I'm not good at the drama stuff, hahah._

_Anyway, review. Nao! raah. - that's me being angry :3  
><em>


	9. You Are What You Are

_Thanks to my beta reader Darth Azrael and my readers and reviewers :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or songs used._

* * *

><p><strong>You Are What You Are<strong>

Two weeks had passed since Alex's encounter with her older brother; aka Cavallo. Nobody had seen or heard from him since, and it was driving Alex insane. She had so many questions. Not that she figured he'd answer them anyway. She honestly didn't know what she expected from him. Maybe that's the whole reason she wanted to see him again, she just wasn't sure.

Robin was trying as hard as he could to find as much information that he could possibly get on Cavallo, and secretly even Alex. Since he'd found out the two were siblings, he decided it was the best decision. He mostly trusted Alex and felt bad going behind her back, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

_Looks like your training rubbed off more than you thought, eh Bruce?_ Robin would think to himself whenever he realized he was acting like his mentor.

The rest of the team had noticed that Alex had been sulking and that she'd barely left the Tower since the incident, and they wanted to cheer her up.

Beast Boy decided this meant the ingestion of a lot of pizza and sugar. Because, hey, when _didn't _that solve anything?

So the Titans dragged Alex to the pizza place, albeit half unwillingly on Alex's part. As soon as they got there usual table on the balcony in the corner, Alex took her seat with a 'hmmph' and rested her head in her hand as she idly listened to the Titan's conversations.

Cyborg turned to Alex sympathetically, "You know, you could at least _pretend_ like you're having a good time." Alex simply gave him a small smile in return. Why did she let them drag her out here again?

Just then, Alex could have sworn she heard someone call her name. Quickly whipping her head around and looking around the balcony, she realized she was wrong. Beast Boy looked at her quizzically, "What?"

"Nothing. I just thought I heard someone call for me or something." Alex answered, returning her head to her hand.

"Oh, no! Now she's going crazy!" Beast Boy exclaimed, standing up and pointing a dramatic finger at her. Alex stared at him unblinkingly until he got creeped out and slowly sat back down.

"Alex!" This time the whole team heard it, and it sounded like it was coming from below the balcony. Alex quickly got up and looked over the balcony, having to do a double take as she watched the waving figure.

"_Becca_?" Alex asked in disbelief, with wide eyes.

"Alex! I knew that sulking person in the black jacket _had_ to be you! Hold on, I'll be right up!" The girl called, running inside the restaurant. Alex continued to stare at the spot where she was standing in disbelief until she heard the doors of the balcony open, and a squeal of excitement emitted from its direction. Turning around, she barely had time to prepare herself before she was practically mauled by a girl a few inches shorter. "I can't believe I found you!" She said, before she quickly released Alex and gave her a serious look, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slap you."

Alex just stared at the girl in front of her, obviously confused. She had cropped, bleach-blond hair, brown eyes, a pierced nose, was a few inches shorter than her and wore an All Time Low T-shirt along with worn jeans. Yep, it was Becca alright. Alex knew what she was talking about; she just had no idea why she was _there_.

"Uh...because you love me?" Alex tried with a shrug and a sheepish smile.

"I said a _good _reason." Becca wagged her finger.

"Do you even know her?" Raven interjected. Becca looked over at Raven and narrowed her eyes, about to answer.

Alex, sensing the tension, quickly interrupted "Yeah. Guys, this is Becca."

"Becca...Becca...Oh!" Beast Boy said, snapping his fingers in realization, "You're the backpack girl!"

"The backpack girl?..." Becca scrunched up her nose in thought, "Oh! Alex still has that old thing?" She laughed.

"Hey, don't knock the backpack." Alex quickly warned.

Becca held up her hands in defense, a smile playing at her lips, "I did no such thing."

Robin watched the two girls share a laugh and couldn't help but ask, "So, how did you two meet?"

Becca turned her attention towards Robin, noticing him for the first time. "Nothing special really, Alex here just _saved my life_ is all." She said, nudging Alex in the stomach.

Alex made a whining noise and playfully pushed Becca away, "By the way, are you staying away from dark alleys now?"

"Of course, I'm strictly sticking to the dimly lit ones now." Becca smiled while Alex face-palmed.

"Good enough."

"Oooh. Alex saved your life? I'm sensing a story coming on." Beast Boy commented.

Alex sighed, "Once upon a time there was a girl who always took a short cut through an alley on her way home from the movies. One night, some random drunk guy was there and attacked her. Then some random girl happened to walk by and stop him. The end."

"Wow Alex, way to ruin it." Becca face-palmed.

Alex rolled her eyes and continued, "As thanks, Becca's dad let me live with them for a while."

"And then Alex randomly left without so much as a _good-bye_! Which is what this is for!" Becca said suddenly becoming serious and slapping Alex's arm.

"Ow!" Alex said, rubbing her arm. Becca was stronger than she looked. "I'm sorry..." She began, trailing off.

"Why did you leave? Do you know how hard it was to come over here? I mean, I wanted to go to college here anyway but it took dad a lot of convincing and he didn't even let me come _alone._ Even after I saw you on the TV, he made Kyle come with me—"

"_Kyle's _here?" Alex asked, growing visibly pale.

"Yeah—well, he's at the hotel, but I mean, he's here with me..." Becca trailed off, noticing Alex's features, "Wait. _He's _the reason you left, isn't he? That explains so much! That's why he wouldn't say anything about it, either! Dangit, I'm _so_ kicking the crap out of him when I get back."

Alex looked like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but couldn't say anything. Starfire couldn't keep herself from asking, "Who is Kyle?"

Alex looked over at Becca pleadingly, begging for her not to answer. Either Becca didn't notice the look or ignored her because a moment later she answered, "He's my cousin, otherwise known as Alex's _ex-boyfriend_." Five sets of eyes shot up in surprise, immediately darting to Alex, whose eyes were downcast.

"Alex had a _boyfriend_?" Beast Boy asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"Why is that so surprising?" Alex demanded as she looked Beast Boy in the eyes, taking offense. She then turned her eyes back down and sighed, "Whatever, I'm going back to the Tower."

"_What_? No, don't leave! I'm sorry. I don't know what happened between you two, but I know he's sorry...please just go talk to him." Becca said, grabbing on to Alex's arm and pulling her towards the door.

"No." Alex answered shortly.

"Please?" Becca tried again as she continued to pull a resisting Alex while the Titans watched in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Becca, no."

"_Please, _please?" Becca pulled one last time, nearly making Alex fall over. Alex nearly growled.

"Oh, my god, fine! Just stop trying to pull my arm off." Alex said before she realized what came out of her mouth.

"Yay!" Becca squealed. "Let's go." She said as she continued to pull on Alex's arm. Alex looked at the Titans behind her and gave them a classic 'help me' look. They all laughed and followed along.

As they arrived at the hotel, Alex's nerves started to get the best of her and it started to seem more and more worth it to just phase out of Becca's grip and run away. However, she knew that wouldn't really solve anything so she let Becca keep her death grip on her arm the entire time.

Right when they arrived at the door, it swung open violently to reveal a tall, angry looking man with short blond hair and fury and his brown eyes, "Becca, there you are! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" He nearly screamed in her face, though there was worry evident in his eyes. His eyes quickly followed the attachment on Becca's arm, and a dumbfounded look replaced his previous angry one, "Alex?"

"Hey, Kyle." Alex waved sheepishly with her free hand. She really wished Becca would let go of her other arm now. Running away sounded really nice.

"What are you...? How did you...?" Kyle turned from Alex to Becca, "What did you do."

"What?" Becca asked innocently. "I was looking for that college when I ran into Alex and the Titans and then they wanted to come say hi. That's all." Alex turned to Becca, with an unreadable expression on her face. Becca somehow understood it as saying 'I hate you', and winked at Alex.

Alex turned to Kyle and smiled apologetically, "Becca told us to come here."

Becca's face fell as she leaned into whisper into Alex's ear, "Why'd you have to tell him that?"

Getting the hint that they weren't exactly welcome, Alex skillfully slid her arm out of Becca's grip, "Well...I guess we'll be going now..." She said awkwardly.

"Wait!" He called a little too loud before clearing his throat, looking over Alex's features trying to hold back the blush that crept onto his face. Alex noticed this and couldn't help but blush herself. Kyle continued, "You can stay. I guess maybe we should talk anyway. It—it's nice seeing you again, Alex." Alex gave a shy smile which Kyle returned, nearly causing Becca to 'aww' out loud.

"Err...I hate to ruin the moment...but can I use the bathroom?" Beast Boy asked with an embarrassed chuckle.

Everyone face-palmed, save Kyle who honestly just noticed the Titans for the first time.

"What! I'm sorry; when ya gotta go ya gotta go!" Beast Boy reasoned.

"It's back there." Kyle said, pointing and getting stepping out of the way so Beast Boy could rush into the room.

Alex sighed, "I swear that boy has to have the smallest bladder..."

Cyborg chuckled, "No, he just always has to go at the worst times."

"He _is_ cute though." Becca blurted out.

Everyone stared back at her blankly.

"What?" She asked innocently. Kyle sighed at his cousin and said nothing as he lead her, the Titans and Alex into the hotel room with two twin beds.

"So really, what's up?" He asked, sitting down on the bed furthest from the door.

"I saw the Titans and figured Alex would be with them so I went to talk to them, and sure enough, it was her! What luck, right? Second day here and I already find her. Am I good or _what_?" Becca explained.

"I thought you said you saw a 'sulking person in a black jacket' and knew it was me." Alex said, recalling Becca's earlier words while rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I was just messing with you. I saw Cyborg first." Becca giggled, "I just assumed you were sulking, it's what you do."

"She's good." Cyborg commented.

"Well, it's not like I don't _have_ a reason to sulk—you know what? Never mind." Alex said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Guys!" Beast Boy said, nearly tripping as he dashed out of the bathroom, "I've got an idea!"

"This should be good." Raven deadpanned just as Alex muttered, "It's a miracle."

"Ha-ha." Beast Boy waved a dismissive hand towards the girls before continuing, "How about..." He paused for dramatic effect, "We go to an amusement park!"

"Ooo!" Becca said, clapping her hands, obviously pleased with the idea. Starfire joined in with the clapping because she liked the sound.

Beast Boy nodded enthusiastically, "That way Alex can get over her sadness too! I mean, come on, who's ever sad at the _amusement park_?"

Alex simply shrugged, while the rest of the gang thought it over. Cyborg was an automatic yes, and after thinking it over for a minute, Robin agreed, which meant Starfire was a yes. Raven eventually agreed so long as no one bugged her to ride anything (she was staring directly at Beast Boy when she said this). Alex finally nodded in agreement, not wanting to be the party pooper.

Kyle on the other hand, didn't have a problem with that, "I don't know..." He began.

"Oh, come on!" Becca cried out.

"We only have a week here and you still have to do your college stuff." He reasoned.

"Exactly, a whole _week_." Becca retaliated, "Come on, _please_?" She begged, clasping her hands together with big puppy dog eyes.

Kyle tried reasoning with her again, but just couldn't. Becca knew that _no one_ could resist the puppy dog eyes. He sighed, "_Fine_. Just stop doing that." Becca smiled in victory.

"Great!" Beast Boy said excitedly as he marched out the door, "To the amusement park!"

XXX

After they arrived at the amusement park, everyone went their own way. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Becca raced to the tallest rollercoaster while Robin and Starfire walked over to the nearest rides with water rafts, as Raven went looking for some sort of haunted house, leaving Kyle and Alex standing awkwardly at the entrance by themselves.

"So..." They began at the same time, then chuckled awkwardly.

"How've you been?" Kyle asked as they walked in a random direction.

Alex shrugged, "You know, fine...how about you?"

"Same, I guess." He replied, kicking a pebble on the ground, "So you're with the Titans now? That's cool."

"Yeah, I like it." Alex said, digging her hands into her pockets. An awkward silence settled over them, and Alex wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know whether to bring up the past, or leave well enough alone.

"So you want to go on a ride, or what?" Kyle asked.

Thankful for the change of pace Alex answered, "Sure, which one?"

"Well...since you're afraid of heights, that kind of knocks off most of the rides, doesn't it?" He asked, glancing over at Alex with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and playfully nudged him.

"You saw that, too, huh?"

"Like I'd miss it."

Alex's brows furrowed, "Am I seriously the only one who didn't know about the Titans?"

Kyle looked as if he was weighing his answer back and forth, "Mmh...probably, yeah." Alex sighed in turn. "But hey! Now you're like one of them. That's cool." He couldn't help the venom from escaping his next words, "How long do you think you'll be staying with _them_?"

Alex got the not so subtle hint and looked at Kyle, who by now was looking her in the eyes. "I told you guys I wasn't going to stay long."

"You could have at least said something when you left!" Kyle nearly shouted, throwing a hand in the air.

"Oh, like that was my fault?" Alex spat back, "After what you said to me? I wasn't going to stick around any longer. I could tell I wasn't wanted."

"That's not my fault! I-I didn't have enough time to digest what I saw..." Kyle trailed off, frowning.

Alex shook her head, anger still fuming, "That doesn't excuse what you said, Kyle."

Kyle looked down, ashamed, "I know...I'm sorry."

Alex sighed, tilting her head back in annoyance as she looked into the sky. As she stared, she noticed a lone crow circling high above them. Upon further inspection as it circled lower, she noticed that it wasn't a crow at all, but in fact a raven. She briskly wondered what a raven was doing so far in the city before a crooked smile found its way to her lips. Of course a certain violet-blue haired Titan ran through her mind, causing her to hum a laugh.

Kyle looked up, confused, "What?"

Alex looked back down as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Nothing, nothing. You know what? It's alright. Why don't we go find something to do?" she asked with a small smile.

Kyle smiled in response, argument forgotten, "That sounds good."

The two continued walking and found the nearest rollercoaster and joined the line. When they finally reached the front of the line and sat in their seats, Kyle said, "You sure you're okay with this? It'll be pretty high."

Alex rolled her eyes, "I'm fine."

"I'm just saying...if you get scared, you can hold my hand or something..."

"Oh, Kyle, you never were good at giving hints..."

"No, you just never were good at taking them, so I always had to be as blunt as possible." Kyle smirked.

Alex rolled her eyes and took Kyle's hand in her own. The rollercoaster slowly started moving forward and uphill, "Here we go." He said.

"I'm _fine_." Alex repeated.

"Oookay" Kyle sing-songed, unbelieving. The rollercoaster suddenly started rolling downhill, and screams of excitement and fear were heard from all the passengers. Kyle squeezed Alex's hand as they flipped upside down near some water then around a couple loops. The rollercoaster then spun around in a quick curly-Q, causing Kyle to squeeze Alex's hand even harder, while Alex was laughing out of joy the entire time. The ride quickly came to an end as they pulled back into the station and everyone piled out. Alex continued to smile while Kyle's face was pale white.

"That was fun, want to go again?" Alex asked.

"No, no I'm good." He answered quickly. Alex smirked and took Kyle's hand in her own again. He looked down at their hands in shock then smiled as they continued to walk, "Where to next?"

"Well...since I obviously liked that more than you did, why don't you pick?" Alex offered.

"Hmm..." Kyle said in thought. It suddenly looked like a light bulb went off over his head as he began to drag Alex off in another direction.

"Where are we going?"

"Just wait till we get there."

Alex snorted, "You're worse than your cousin."

"Harsh, Alex. Harsh."

After about 10 minutes of walking and Kyle turning in all sorts of different directions, Alex began to lose patience, "You honestly have no idea where you're going, do you?"

"I swear he was around here somewhere." Kyle said.

"He?"

"The guy."

"Oh. _Him_."

Kyle sighed. He obviously wasn't going to surprise Alex anymore, so he decided to just tell her now. "The guy with the fancy camera."

"_Oh_."

Kyle suddenly felt awkward, "It's just...after what happened, I felt bad not having any pictures of us together..."

"Oh..." Alex said again, "I think I saw him a couple minutes ago."

He feigned a sigh of relief, "Oh, yeah? Where?"

Alex tugged on Kyle's hand and led the way to where they found the camera man, taking a picture of a family. As soon as he was finished, Alex and Kyle walked up to him. "Hi, can I help you?" The man asked.

"Yeah, can we get a picture together?" Kyle asked.

"Sure thing, bud." He said as he got his camera together. "Just have a seat there on those steps."

The two did as they were told and sat on the steps across from the camera, Kyle wrapping his arm around Alex. Alex smiled into the camera as best she could, considering she really hated pictures. However, she noticed a ways behind the cameraman stood Robin, Starfire and Raven all talking and even laughing. Behind them the sun was setting, and Alex realized it caused a certain glow around Raven, causing her to genuinely smile.

Suddenly there was a flash, and she was brought back to reality. Kyle got up while she continued to sit in her seat, contemplating her feelings from a moment before. He came back a few moments later with copies in hand and handed one to Alex.

Kyle had his arm wrapped around Alex with a big grin on his face, while Alex had a full blown smile. What was more noticeable about her, though, were her eyes. They were shining with joy and something else not quite readable.

"You look beautiful." Kyle commented.

"Thanks." Alex blushed as she looked up from the photograph with a smile, "I saw some of the others, want to go say hi?"

"Sure."

They walked down to see Robin, Starfire and Raven standing in the middle of an intersection.

"I suggest we go to Dragon Bay." Starfire nodded eagerly.

"That's for little kids, Star." Raven informed her.

"Oh, hey, there's Alex and Kyle, what have you guys been up to?" Robin asked.

"Nothing really, went on a roller coaster then got our picture taken." Alex replied with a shrug.

Robin raised a masked brow, "Picture?" Kyle handed him one of the photographs much to Alex's dismay. "It's a nice picture of you, Alex."

"Thanks." Kyle interrupted, "I thought I looked nice too." He joked.

"That...is up to the girls." Robin replied.

"No." Raven immediately interjected.

Kyle's face fell, "'No' I don't look good or 'no' you won't even look at it?"

Alex laughed, "Just don't even try, Kyle." The rest of the gang laughed, except for Raven.

"So where do you think we should go? I think the park's closing soon." Robin asked.

Alex shrugged, "I'm up for that one rollercoaster again."

"Oh, _god_, no." Kyle said, causing Alex to giggle.

"So...which one of us is afraid now?" She asked.

"Ha-ha." He mock laughed.

"Which rollercoaster is that?" Robin asked.

"Come on, I'll show you." Alex said, leading the way. When they made it to the line, they discovered it was a lot shorter than they expected.

"A lot of people must have already gone home." Kyle rationalized.

Alex shrugged, "Easier for us, then."

"Is it a fun coaster that rolls?" Starfire asked.

"Yes." Alex answered.

"If you're into being scared out of your mind." Kyle added.

"Sounds like my kind of ride." Robin commented.

"Oh, it's totally awesome." Alex agreed as she turned to Raven, "You joining us?"

"No."

"Aw, but Rave—"

"My condition for coming was that no one bugs me into going onto a ride." She reminded Alex.

"Yeah, but, that was for Beast Boy..."

"That was for _everyone_."

Alex sighed, defeated, "Okay, if you really don't want to. I think you'd find it fun though."

Raven noticed at Alex's defeated look and feigned a sigh. Honestly, what was it about her? "Fine. I'll go."

Alex looked back up and grinned, "Sweet. I know you'll like it." Raven rolled her eyes in response.

As they waited in the short line, they talked about what they did that day.

"Robin and I went down the raging water ride on the floating rafts of lightness; somehow we didn't get very wet. It was very fun" Starfire nodded enthusiastically before continuing, "Then we went on the calming one with the swans down the river into the dark tunnel. I enjoyed that one the most." At that, everyone raised a brow and turned to look at Robin.

Robin's masked eyes widened as he blushed, gesturing towards Starfire as he spoke in a meager tone, "She thought the swans were pretty..." The rest of the group held back their laughter. Robin tried to get the attention off himself, "So, Raven, what'd you do?"

"I spent most my time looking for the haunted house, then I found you and Star." She answered.

"Was it any good?" Alex asked.

Raven shrugged, "I've seen better."

Soon enough they were at the front of the line, and began taking their seats. Alex looked questioningly at Kyle as he continued to stand, looking as if he wasn't quite sure what to do. "Uh?..." Alex asked.

"I don't think I want to go again." Kyle stated.

Alex tried to hide her smirk, but she was failing. "Okay."

"This way I can hold our pictures and make sure nothing happens to them..." He continued to reason.

Alex didn't hold back her grin this time, "Alright, then." She said, looking over at Raven, "That means you're with me!" She took her seat and patted the spot next to her. Raven rolled her eyes but nevertheless sat next to her. "Now, don't worry if you get scared, because I'll be here with you the _whole _time, okay?" Alex said as if she were talking to a child. Raven stared at her blankly before she felt the rollercoaster jerk to a start, slowly ascending uphill until it reached the very top. The rollercoaster suddenly started rolling downhill, and the familiar screams of excitement and fear were heard from all the passengers. Alex began laughing again as they flipped upside down near the water then around a couple loops. As the rollercoaster spun around in a quick curly-Q, Raven unconsciously reached for Alex's hand and squeezed it tight, causing Alex's laughter to subside as she felt a warm, tingling sensation begin in her hand and stretch its way to her heart. The ride was over too quickly as they pulled back into the station. Raven suddenly realized she was squeezing Alex's hand and quickly let go, embarrassed. Alex just tried to shrug her earlier feeling away and smirked, "Told you I'd be here for you."

Raven scoffed as the two of them exited the ride, meeting up with Robin, Starfire and Kyle.

"I do not wish to experience that again." Starfire said, face pale.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" Robin said.

Alex high fived him, "I know, right! Wanna go again?"

"No." Was all Raven said.

"You guys are crazy." Kyle said, shaking his head.

"To be honest, I think we should go find the others." Robin answered, running his hand through his perfectly gelled hair in thought.

"Yeah, I wonder where they could be..." Kyle's brows furrowed in thought.

The Titans and Alex all looked at each other for a second as they shared the same thought and answered in unison, "Food court."

They walked over to the food court and sure enough as soon as they got closer they saw Beast Boy, Becca, and Cyborg standing in front of a concession stand. Beast Boy immediately saw them and waved them over, "Hey guys!"

"Hey," Kyle said as they reached them, "What are you guys up to?"

"Getting something to eat before the park closes." Cyborg answered, looking over the menu.

Alex read over the list and shrugged, "I know what I want, what about the rest of you?" she asked, turning to the rest of the gang.

They all read the menu and looked like they were making decisions, but most of them eventually nodded. They went up, ordered, and waited for their food. As soon as it was up, they sat down at one of the open tables.

"So what did you guys do?" Kyle asked Becca, munching on a french fry.

"We went to the biggest rollercoaster_, twice, _and then on the giant spinning one. I swear to god Beast Boy looked like he was going to throw up." Becca laughed.

"I was not! I told you, my face always looks like this!" Beast Boy said a little too loudly, nearly spitting out the food in his mouth.

"But your face was so green—" Becca started, but Beast Boy just about glared daggers at her, "Er. Green_er_." Becca reiterated, clearing her throat from the awkward moment. Alex tried to hide her smirk as she took a bite of her hamburger. Becca noticed however, and was welcome to a change of subject, "So, Alex, how was your date?"

Alex nearly choked, "_Date_?" She asked as she glanced at an equally fumbling Kyle, who dropped his french fry.

"Yeah, you two were alone for like, _hours_, is that not a date?" Becca asked before she scooted closer to Alex and wiggled her brow, "You can tell me if you made out or something."

This time Alex nearly dropped her burger in surprise, and sharply turned to Becca, "We didn't do _anything_ like that! All we did was go on a rollercoaster and get our picture taken."

"Ooo, a picture? Lemme see!" Becca said looking all around, until Kyle handed it to her. She stared intently at the picture for a moment before saying, "This is a great picture of you Alex! You look so pretty!" Alex merely rolled her eyes.

"Why doesn't anyone say I look nice?" Kyle whined.

"Because you're my cousin. That would just be wrong." Becca reasoned, handing the picture back to Kyle.

Alex shrugged, "I think you look nice in the picture, Kyle." She offered.

Kyle smiled and stated half sarcastically, "Thank you, Alex, I feel much better now."

"Aww, see? They're so cute together!" Becca gushed. The rest of the gang laughed while Alex and Kyle blushed. The rest of their dinner was pretty unexciting, as they ate the rest of their food.

"Alright, kids, ready to go?" Cyborg asked as he got up and belched.

Beast Boy laughed, "Good one." As he tried to come up with his own, but Raven slapped his head before he could muster one up, "Ow! Cyborg did it first!" Raven merely shrugged and began walking towards the exit.

XXX

They arrived back at the hotel a little later, getting ready to say their goodbyes.

"Alright, now lets give Alex and Kyle a little alone time so they can have their kiss. Every date ends with one, you know. Plus they haven't even been around each other in months, so it might end up in _more _than a kiss." Becca said, wiggling her brows yet again.

"_Becca!_" Both Alex and Kyle said in unison, Alex saying it with anger while Kyle said it with embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll give these two love birds some time alone." Beast Boy said with a suggestive tone.

Alex groaned in annoyance as she face-palmed while Kyle sighed and leaned against the hotel door as the rest of the gang walked off, laughing, no doubt at their expense. "Actually, I'm glad they left us alone. I wanted to talk to you." He said.

"Oh, yeah? What about?" Alex questioned.

"Well..." He began, scratching the back of his neck nervously, "I, well, me and Becca were wondering...would you come back to Arizona with us?"

"What do you mean...to like, stay there?" Alex asked, suddenly confused.

"Yeah...you know you're welcome." He said, letting his hand fall back down to his side as he stared into Alex's eyes. "Honestly, isn't it better than putting your life on the line every day anyway?"

"I—I don't know, Kyle. I like where I am."

"You didn't like being with us?" He asked, hurt evident in his eyes.

"That's not what I meant. I just...there's something I need to take care of here." Alex said, looking down.

Kyle's brows furrowed as anger fumed in his eyes, "So you'd rather hang out with those _freaks_ then us?" He asked, throwing his arm in the air.

Alex immediately looked back up, and poked a finger at him, "They are not _freaks._"

"Oh, my god, Alex, yes they are! Do you seriously not notice the way that they act? They wear tights, and talk weird, one of them has green skin, one of them barely looks _human_, and the other is just plain _creepy_, Alex. They're freaks! How could you choose them over me?"

Anger fumed in Alex's hazel eyes as she listened to what Kyle had to say, "You son of a bitch! Is that what you really think? Not that long ago you said _I_ was a freak. That's the whole reason I left, Kyle! You didn't want me because I wasn't _normal _enough for you." Alex lowered her hand and balled her fists, "They aren't freaks. They're heroes. They're my friends, and I'm going to stay with them. And you can go to hell." She finished, stalking off to where she thought the others were.

When she found them she saw everyone talking and laughing, and when they noticed her she heard a couple 'ooo's', but as soon as they saw her expression they quickly quieted down. She looked over at Becca, "Bye Becca, it really was nice seeing you again. Hopefully we can meet up again before you leave." She said, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Alex...what happened?" Becca asked.

Alex shook her head, "Nothing. We just had a disagreement." She said, quickly changing the subject, "Can I have your number?" Becca nodded, unconvinced but still gave it to her.

"Whatever it is, I'll make sure to yell at him." She winked. Alex smiled weakly in return.

XXX

The gang waved goodbye to Becca and made their way back to the Tower. However, they quickly noticed that their whole reason for leaving in the first place was thwarted, for Alex was sulking...again.

"Aw, come on, Alex, what's wrong? What happened?" Beast Boy asked standing in front of Alex as she sat on the couch, trying to watch TV he was blocking the screen. "Did Kyle not want to kiss you or something?" Alex's brows formed a straight line as her hand flew up and smacked Beast Boy in the face, knocking him on the ground. "Ahh...well, you could have just said 'no'." He said from the ground as he rubbed his nose.

"It's not important." Alex said as she continued to stare at the TV.

"Then stop sulking. At least we got you to stop thinking about your brother!" Beast Boy said, standing up, once again blocking the screen.

Alex face-palmed. Great, now she was thinking about that, too. "Why does everyone always think I'm sulking?" Alex asked, slightly annoyed.

"Because you kind of always are." He answered.

"It is true, Alex." Starfire interjected, from her seat next to Alex. "You seem to be of the ill-humored mood lately." Alex just continued to stare ahead, hoping the conversation would be dropped. When it was obvious they were going to keep it up, Alex sighed and got up from her seat abruptly, leaving the room, and a perplexed Starfire and Beast Boy behind.

It was moments like this Alex really wished she had a room, or at least somewhere she could go and just _think_. She immediately thought of the roof, and started making her way there. As she opened the door, she heard the familiar mantra of, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Alex looked over and saw Raven in her meditative pose as she chanted her mantra. Alex decided to be quiet and just lay down by the air vent, using her arms as a headrest. Soon enough, she actually fell asleep to the sound of Raven's calming voice.

Raven pulled out of her meditation and immediately noticed another presence on the roof. Looking over, she saw Alex sleeping by the vent. Raven knew it was pretty late and decided to wake her up. When she walked over, she noticed a sliver of Alex's abdomen showing where her jacket and shirt had moved up a little. Raven couldn't help staring at the exposed pale flesh, furrowing her brows when she noticed a small crescent shaped scar near Alex's right hip, wanting nothing more than reach her hand out and gently place her fingers over it.

Raven blinked, suddenly realizing what she was thinking and shook her head. She kneeled down to shake Alex gently out of her sleep. Alex mumbled something incoherent and slowly opened her eyes, to see Raven staring at her. Alex looked up at her, confused.

"What?..." Alex asked groggily.

"Why did you fall asleep on the roof?" Raven asked, ignoring Alex's question.

Alex shook her head, trying to remember before memories came flooding back into her mind, "Oh. I was tired of them bugging me so I came up here to get away from everyone." She sat up and stretched her aching muscles as she snorted, "Sorry, I guess I'm kind of stealing your place."

"It's alright." Raven responded, surprised by her own honesty. She really didn't mind that much, which was odd. "What were they bugging you about?"

"Kyle." Alex answered disdainfully. Raven nodded in understanding. Alex didn't know whether it was because she was tired, or whether it was just the fact that she was with _Raven_, but she suddenly felt more open to discussing it, "We're not going to be together."

Raven raised a brow in question, urging Alex to continue, "He...doesn't approve of me staying here."

Raven couldn't stay quiet any longer, "Why not?"

"He doesn't like me putting my life in danger every day. Blah, blah, blah." Alex rolled her eyes before continuing in a sullen tone as she lowered her head, "He thinks you're freaks."

"Hey." Raven said, trying to catch Alex's gaze, as Alex looked up she saw sorrow and pain in her eyes, "Try not to worry about it. He's not the first and he's not the last who'll think so."

"It's just...you guys are heroes. How can anyone think that of you?" Alex asked, shaking her head. When Raven didn't answer, Alex continued, "He called me a freak, too. Before I left...I lost my locket in a drain and couldn't reach it without phasing my arm to get to it, and Kyle ended up seeing me. His exact words were 'what are you, some kind of freak?'" Alex snorted, "Then I tried to explain to him, but as soon as I got close to him he yelled at me not to go near him. After that...I didn't really know what to do, so I just left."

"Everyone reacts differently" Raven stated.

"Yeah," Alex shrugged, "When we saw him today I thought maybe things would be different. But I guess not."

"Like I said, he's not the first or last to think like that."

"Meh...I guess." Alex agreed. "Thanks for talking with me."

"Yeah." Raven nodded, standing up, "Now let's go to bed."

"What time is it, anyway?" Alex questioned as she got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Sometime passed one" Raven answered.

"Wow, we were out here for a while." Alex chuckled, rubbing her neck. Raven simply shrugged as she opened the door, beginning the descent down the stairs.

They made it back to the common room mostly in silence. Alex yawned and waved as she entered the common room, "'Night, Raven. Thanks again for the chat."

"Goodnight, Alex." Raven said as she walked to her room, unaware of the small smile playing at her lips as a certain sense of fulfillment filled her heart.

* * *

><p><em>Song: You Are What You Are - Get Scared <em>

_I actually kind of like this chapter O_o it was fun to write.  
><em>

_anyway...review? _

_:)_


	10. Crawl

_Thanks to my beta reader Darth Azrael and reviewers and readers :)_

_Sorry about the late update. :s_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or the songs I use._

* * *

><strong>Crawl<strong>

Alex felt a gentle nudging on her shoulder and groaned tiredly, opening her sleepy eyes to see Starfire, who began poking her fingers together and adorned an 'I'm innocent' look. Alex looked up at her, confused at what had happened until Starfire finally gave up and Alex could see the guilt all over her face. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, "What time is it?"

"It is 4:30 in the morning." Starfire answered, back to poking her fingers together.

"...Why did you wake me up?" Alex asked, again confused.

"I am sorry, Alex, I have not been able to slumber for many nights so tonight I went to Raven asking for assistance, but she had told me to come to you saying that you would be of more assistance with the problem at hand." Starfire rushed out.

Alex feigned a sigh. Of course Raven would do that. She sat up, stretching as she did so, and patted the spot next to her indicating for Starfire to sit down, "What seems to be the problem?"

"It is about...boys." Starfire said, flustered. Alex suddenly had a flashback to when she and her mom had '_The Talk_'. She sincerely hoped this conversation would be nothing like that. "To be more accurate, it is about a specific boy." Starfire continued.

Alex had a pretty good feeling about who she was talking about, but wanted her to say it out loud, "Oh? And who might it be?"

Starfire blushed and looked away before replying in barely above a whisper, "Robin..." After a moment she looked back up at Alex but couldn't meet her eyes, "I am confused about his feelings towards me."

Alex was taken aback, "_Really_?"

She nodded, "Sometimes we have the most marvelous times together and I am very happy, and I believe he is too, but other times he pushes me away and I do not know what to believe. It is very confusing."

Alex creased her brows in thought, "Star, you like him, right?"

"Very much, yes." She nodded vigorously, wish a blush.

Alex nodded in turn, still in thought, "Here's what I think: Robin wouldn't be pushing you away unless he was afraid of something, like say maybe, you figuring out that he's into you. In my opinion, it's something you have to confront him about, and just hope for the best. The worst that could happen is he could say no, but Robin's nice and I don't think it would ruin your friendship any. But between you and me...he totally likes you." She finished with a smile, looking at Starfire.

Starfire turned her head to the side, perplexed, "Is it not Earthly tradition for the male to confront the female?"

Alex waved a dismissive hand, "Pff, not anymore. If you want to ask him out, go for it."

Starfire smiled and suddenly leaned over to hug Alex, who tried not to squeak in pain (she was slowly getting used to Starfire's hugs). "Thank you for your advice, Alex! I shall heed it wisely." She said, getting up and nearly flying to the door.

"Wait," Alex called from the couch, "Maybe you should wait until he wakes up..."

"Oh..." Starfire blushed embarrassed at how excited she got and turned around, "Heh heh...I believe you are right, Alex. I think I shall return to my room. Have a good nights rest." She said.

"You too, 'night." Alex called as Starfire exited the room, before huffing a sigh. There was just no way she'd be able to fall back asleep now. She stole a quick glance at the stereo system in thought.

She couldn't...could she?

XXX

Raven had a hard time falling back asleep after her surprise visit from Starfire that morning. She groaned as she turned to the side and looked at the clock, which read 4:55. By performing her morning rituals she managed to kill 15 minutes, but in the end she just decided to make her way to the common room to get some tea and wake up a little.

As she entered the room, she noticed music playing kind of loudly and would have thought it were another joke being played by beast boy if it weren't for Alex kneeling in front of the stereo system. Raven was about to say something when she noticed Alex tapping her hand on the stereo lightly to the music as the lyrics started and she began to sing along.

_There you go messin' with my mind, I am usually better when I lie, there I go stuck inside a shell, and you're living on the other side a lovers carousel. If you only knew, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lose control when I hear your body move through the walls in the next room, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lose control when I hear your body move and I'm dying to break through to the next room_

Raven was overall surprised by Alex's voice; it wasn't something that she expected from her at all. She stood there transfixed while Alex started bobbing her head to the beat and continued to sing.

_You make love to everything you touch, it's a natural reaction, it's a sensual attraction, you play me like I am made of strings, I'm the violin, a melody I want your lips to sing, if you only knew how hard it is to handle how bad I want a scandal, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lose cont—_

"Raven?" Alex asked, face pale. She had finally gotten from her spot to by the stereo to rest on the couch and noticed the other occupant of the room. She hurriedly ran back to the stereo and turned off the music. "Oh, my god. How long have you been standing there?"

"Uhh..." Was all Raven could muster.

"Oh, my god." Alex repeated, flustered. "I didn't think anyone would be up this early. I'm so sorry, did I wake you up or something?"

Finally collecting herself, Raven replied, "Calm down, you didn't wake anyone up. I haven't been standing here long; I only heard the one song." She paused, "You...have a nice voice."

Alex looked down and blushed, clearing her throat she said, "Uh, thanks..."

Raven nodded mutely and made her way to her usual spot in the kitchen. Alex recovered from her initial embarrassment and joined her in the kitchen, sitting across from Raven's usual spot, "So, Star woke you up too?"

Raven blinked as she poured the steaming water into her cup, briefly looking at Alex, "I thought she would have at least waited until you woke up."

Alex couldn't help but smile, "Its okay. But, for the love of god, why did you tell her to come to me for advice?" Alex couldn't help but wonder

"Romance isn't my forte." Was all Raven said.

"So that obviously makes it mine." Alex laughed.

"Would you rather I turned her to Beast Boy?" Raven deadpanned, sitting down.

Alex's face fell as she thought of all the ways that could go wrong and said, "Good point." Raven nodded once in agreement as she sat down with her tea, and the rest of the morning was relatively silent.

XXX

Early afternoon rolled around as Starfire paced back and forth down the hall, in front of a certain teammates room, wringing her hands together nervously. Try as she might, she just couldn't bring herself to knock on his door. Even if she did, she had no idea what she was going to say to him. Maybe Alex's advice was not such a good idea after all, she decided. Turning around to leave, she almost literally ran into none other than Alex herself, who also looked quite surprised.

"Whoa! Sorry, Star." Alex said, taking a step back. She then noticed they were standing almost directly in front of Robin's door. She couldn't keep the mischievous smile from forming, "So what are you doing here?"

Starfire blushed and turned her head to the side, "I was going to follow your advice, but I do not know what to say...it is still very confusing."

Alex nodded in understanding, "Don't worry about it, it's like that for everyone. By the way...you know Robin's in the common room...right?"

"He is?" Starfire questioned, sharply turning her head back to Alex before she sighed sullenly, "Oh, Alex...I do not think I can do this. I'm afraid that my nerves are getting the best of me."

Alex shrugged, "Hey, like I said, don't worry about it. If you want, we can just hang out together until you feel like you're up to it." She suggested.

Starfire suddenly brightened up, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Why do we not go to the mall? Oh, and Raven, as well! It could be a ritualistic girls outing!" Starfire said, clasping her hands together in delight.

"Sure, that sounds great." Alex said with a smile, glad that Starfire's mood had brightened.

"Lovely! You can retrieve Raven while I shall tell the boys where we are going." Starfire said, and she flew down the hall.

Alex watched in amusement as Starfire floated down the hall, knowing that she only did that when she was really excited about something. She then turned around to go find Raven, who she was sure was probably in her room.

XXX

Raven sat cross legged on her bed as she read her book quietly. Rather, as she tried to read her book. She realized that she just read a paragraph and had no idea what had happened. Something was definitely...off. Looking up at her room she searched for anything out of place or better yet, knowing Beast Boy, if he had _dared_ enter her room, for anything missing or something that didn't belong. She had taken to marking everything she owned with small portions of her soul-self so she could easily find anything that was missing, so all she had to do was reach out with her mind and look for any blank spots. Finding nothing she turned her head back down to her book and began reading once more, but something still just wasn't right. It was almost as if something was nagging at her brain, and yet she couldn't really figure out what it was.

She sighed, closing her book and setting in her lap. In doing this, she realized she was tapping her foot up and down...in a rhythmic pattern. Her brows immediately furrowed as she realized what had been nagging at her brain.

_Oh, no._ She thought.

_Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lose control when I hear your body move through the walls in the next room. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I lose control when I hear your body move and I'm dying to break through to the next room_

Raven had an actual song stuck in her head. Groaning, she placed her head in her hands, literally smacking her forehead lightly in attempt to get the song out of her head. It didn't work.

She suddenly heard a knock on her door, causing her to start. She was rarely ever caught off guard like that. She hated it. Walking over and opening the door partially she saw Alex, who looked a little nervous as always when she went to Raven's door. "What?" Raven greeted, a little too paranoid that Alex knew that she was thinking about the song she heard her sing that morning.

Slightly taken aback by Raven's attitude, Alex stuttered, "Uh...S-star and I were just going to go to the mall to help get her over her nerves about Robin...you want to come? She really wants you to...I-I mean, I do too." She finished, holding back a blush.

Raven looked over Alex as she analyzed the situation. She wanted to be there for Starfire, and another plus was that if she were doing something she'd probably be too distracted, and get that idiotic song out of her head.

Finally nodding, she said, "Sure."

"Awesome." Alex said, giving a crooked smile. "I'll go tell Star. We're leaving in like 10." She finished, waving to Raven as she walked down the hallway.

_I lose control when I hear your body move and I'm dying to break through to the next room._

Raven shut her door and sighed. Maybe it would be harder to get this song out of her head then she initially thought.

XXX

Starfire, Raven, and Alex stood in the mall. Literally just standing there as they watched group after group of people walk by, listening to the sounds of the mall as they stood there.

"So..." Alex began, "Here we are."

No one responded.

"...At the mall..." Alex sighed as yet again no one said anything, "Screw this, I'm going to find the pet store."

Raven raised a brow, "...The pet store?"

"Yes. The pet store. The puppies are cute and adorable and I don't care what you think." Alex pouted.

"Puppies!" Starfire squealed in delight, finally joining the conversation as she clapped her hands together.

"Hah!" Alex said, glad she wasn't the only one who thought so, "Are we going or what?"

Raven resisted the urge to face-palm. She knew Starfire would make her do something like this, but Alex? Really? "Fine."

"Yay." Alex said, throwing her arms into the air halfheartedly, walking off.

"You're going the wrong way."

"...I was testing you. You pass!"

Raven rolled her eyes as they started walking towards their destination. As soon as they made it Starfire immediately ran into the already crowded store and began 'awwing' at the puppies. Alex couldn't help but giggle at her. Raven and Alex soon caught up and tried to wade their way through the crowd.

"Aww..." Alex chuckled at the first one she saw, curled up into a ball taking a nap, before slowly making her way down to see the rest. All Raven could notice were the ridiculously priced price tags on all the windows.

"Hey...hey, Raven...check it out." Alex called Raven over with a crooked grin. Raven slowly made her way through the crowd of people in the small room.

"What?" She asked, and Alex almost began laughing.

"That one reminds me of you." Alex said as she pointed to a German shepherd puppy lying in the corner, ears up just staring at everyone with an 'I dare you' look.

Raven looked at the puppy then at Alex, who was obviously trying to hold back her smile. A few people who overheard her had chuckled. Raven looked back in the window and noticed that the German shepherd wasn't alone, and saw a golden retriever ram its head playfully into the German shepherd, trying to get it to play, while all the German shepherd did was huff and continue to lay there.

"Yeah, well that one reminds me of you." Raven retaliated.

Perplexed, Alex questioned, "Why?"

"Because it won't leave the other one alone."

Alex pouted before she saw the golden retriever start pawing at the German shepherd and finally he got up and tackled the golden retriever to the ground, wagging his tail. They both got back up and proceeded to play.

"Yeah, but look. Now they're both playing. So obviously the German shepherd loves the golden retriever anyway." Alex sing-songed the last part, clearly happy with herself. Raven rolled her eyes. But people nearby were pretty entertained.

"Whatever, can we go somewhere else now?" Raven asked.

Alex giggled, "Yeah, I think I've tortured you enough." Alex said, as they met up with Starfire.

Walking outside the store, Starfire asked, "Where shall we venture to next?"

"Up to you." Alex shrugged.

Starfire suddenly gasped in excitement as an idea came to her, "I have a wonderful idea! Follow me please!" She grabbed Alex and Raven's hand, dragging them both behind her.

They came to a halt; Alex nearly running into the taller girl as she looked into the store with her jaw slacked in disbelief. It was a clothes store, that was certain. What had made Alex so dumbfounded was that the _whole_ store seemed to be covered in bright colors such as pink, orange, yellow, etc. Alex looked over at Raven and noticed that she wasn't at all surprised by this and seemed to be used to this sort of thing. She then looked over at Starfire and noticed the sparkles in her eyes before she dragged both Alex and Raven into the store and as soon as they entered Alex's nose was attacked by a pungent smelling fragrance.

Starfire let go of their hands and immediately ran up to a rack of shirts, gasping "Is this not adorable?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah...it sure is something..." Alex replied as she stared at the bright red blouse Starfire pulled out.

"Try it on, Alex." Raven said, with a mischievous glint in her eye, knowing it would get Starfire going. Alex glared daggers at Raven, only fueling her amusement.

"Yes, Alex! That is a wonderful idea!" Starfire joined in.

"Ha, no." Alex began, "_If_, I try anything on, it has to be long sleeved, or jeans. And Raven has to try something on too." She added as an after thought, grinning as Raven glowered.

"No." Was all Raven said, causing Alex to slump her shoulders. Starfire, on the other hand, didn't seem all that deterred.

"I shall find the sleeves of longness for Alex." She said, combing through the racks. A few moments later she squealed in delight, obviously finding something she was proud of. "What do you think?"

Alex looked over the blouse and nearly face-palmed. It was light purple with long sleeves and a low cut V neck. She glanced over at Raven who seemed to be standing perfectly still, staring at the blouse unblinkingly.

"Raven," Alex started, putting her head in her hand as she closed her eyes. Raven didn't respond, not trusting her voice at the moment. "I think this is actually the only time I'm _not_ going to want to hear you laugh." She finished. Raven nearly lost it at that moment, a smile constantly tugging at her lips, but somehow managed to keep it together.

"What is it?" Starfire asked, confused, as she looked at the blouse, wondering what was wrong with it.

"Nothing, let's get this over with." Alex said as she grabbed the blouse out of Starfire's hands and made her way to the dressing room. Raven finally let a smile make its way onto her lips as she followed.

Alex stalked into the dressing room, almost slamming the door behind her as she muttered some incomprehensible words while Starfire and Raven waited outside. A few minutes passed before Starfire began getting impatient.

"Alex, would you like some assistance?" She asked innocently.

"_No!_ I know how to dress my self." Alex said, irritated, before she calmed down and mumbled, "I'm just...starting to rethink this."

"What is it that you are doing the rethinking of?" Starfire questioned through the door.

"I dunno...I just feel...stupid. In this." Alex said, and you could hear her ruffling around in the blouse.

"Please come out, Alex. You do not look 'stupid'." Starfire coaxed.

Alex sighed. "I swear to god, if _either_ of you laugh or make fun of me I'm never doing this again."

Raven rolled her eyes but Starfire nodded in response, as Alex slowly stepped out of the dressing room. She couldn't manage to hold eye contact with either of them as they looked her over.

Raven was stunned when she saw Alex, as she nervously played with the hem of her blouse, blushing. It hugged her body almost perfectly, rather than the baggy jacket she usually wore. For once you could see her locket as it hung loosely around her chest. The color actually suited her, too. Alex looked around embarrassedly, uneased by the silence, "So...how do I look?..."

Raven realized she was staring and cleared her throat, waiting for Starfire to respond as she knew she would, "You look wonderful, Alex!" She said, rushing up to hug Alex tightly. After she recovered from the hug, Alex just rolled her eyes, unbelieving.

"You look nice." Raven said, catching Alex's attention. Alex looked over at Raven who couldn't exactly look Alex in the eye, both girls slightly blushing.

"Well," Alex said, changing the subject, "If all's well and good, I'm going to change back into my clothes now." She said, backing into the dressing room, and changing into her regular clothes.

As she left the dressing room she noticed that Raven and Starfire were not actually waiting for her; sighing, she went to look for them. After a minute of searching she saw them standing in front of the store, waiting for her, "You could have told where you were going..." Alex whined.

"We figured you'd find us eventually." Raven stated.

"It is Raven's turn to pick. Raven, where shall we venture to next?" Starfire asked, though she already knew.

Raven nodded and began leading the way. Alex simply gave a questioning look, wondering where they were going. Walking through the crowds of people in the food court on their way to wherever Raven wanted to go, Alex suddenly noticed a familiar face. She stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the figure to make sure it was really who she thought it was sitting at one of the tables. Starfire and Raven noticed her sudden halt, and turned around to see if she was okay.

"Uh...yeah, I think I'm just going to get a drink. Meet you at the...wait, where are you going?" she asked, distractedly.

"There's a small book store around the corner. You can't really miss it." Raven answered.

"'Kay." Alex said and waited for them to turn the corner before she walked towards the figure, sitting down across from them as they ate.

"What are you doing here?" She asked impatiently.

"Alex!" He said as he took a bite of his cheeseburger, "What a pleasant surprise."

"What are you doing here?" She asked again, narrowing her eyes.

"Eating, what's it look like?"

"John. Don't make me ask again."

John sighed as he popped a ketchup covered fry into his mouth, "So this is the part where bombard me with all your stupid questions, then say you'll be keeping an eye on me?"

"Why are you doing this?" Alex asked, hurt showing in her voice. She wouldn't deny the question has been nagging at her ever since she'd known about him being there.

"Doing what? I'm just eating at the food court." John asked innocently.

Alex narrowed her eyes, shaking her head, "I can't believe I actually wondered why you turned out to be a _bad_ guy."

He chuckled, "You know, Alex," John said as he took another bite of his burger, chewing and swallowing, "as cliché as this sounds, I want you to join us."

"...You want me to join you." Alex repeated, unbelieving. John merely nodded as he took a sip of his drink, "You and Slade—"

"Ah, ah, ah, _Deathstroke._", John interrupted,

"The _arch enemy_ of the Teen Titans, who are now my friends."

John nodded again as he replied, "You won't make a good Titan. We _are _siblings, after all, even if I hate to admit it. Think about it: if you think _I'm_ bad, how bad are you, _really_?" He shrugged as he continued, "Even if you don't want to think of it that way, the Titans don't even like you, Alex. They're just using you and your power to help them along. As soon as they're done using you up, they'll throw you away like a dead battery."

Alex couldn't help but shrink back a little at that. Sometimes her self conscious got the better of her and made her think things like that, and John knew exactly the right things to say. Still, she couldn't let him know that, "I don't believe you. And there's nothing in the world that could ever make me join with you.

"Oh? Plan B it is then, I guess." Alex just looked at him questioningly as he continued to eat his fries. "Do you want one? They're good. I mean, not as good as Dan's, of course. You know he changed his seasoning? They're better now. Speaking of Dan, Did you know he and Stacey are together now?"

"John, I swear to god, if you hurt _either _of them I will—"

"Calm down, I was just visiting. I thought you hated Dan anyway. And as for Stacey...I can't say I won't." He smirked.

Alex glowered at John before leaning back in her seat, "Why did you leave us?" She mumbled.

John's face suddenly became serious for the first time in the conversation, "Because I was tired of that piss poor town, and I was tired of you. And most of all, I was tired of Carrie. She was not fit to be a mother. Much in the same way you are not fit to be a Titan."

Alex balled her fists up, "Take that back." She warned.

"What, that you're not fit to be a Titan or that Carrie wasn't fit to be a mother? They're both true." He shrugged.

"What you said about mom. She loved us."

"Even if that's true, she was a horrible mother. The drinking, the drugs; I mean, come on Alex. We were practically taking care of _her._ She was supposed to take care of _us_. I left to get away from her. I would have taken you with me...but honestly," John snorted, popping another fry into his mouth, "I just never liked you enough."

"It wasn't her fault," Alex said, shaking her head, "It was only after dad died. We could helped her." Her knuckled started turning white.

"Think what you will, I guess. The truth is, she was a drug abusing whore." John said. Alex couldn't take it anymore. She jumped over the table and tackled him to the ground, causing the people around them to jump back in surprise.

XXX

Raven had overall been distracted by her favorite store, but in the midst of looking around noticed Alex had yet to arrive. Sighing, she figured Alex probably got lost and went to go look for her. What caught her attention, though, was a commotion in the food court. There seemed to be a wide circle forming around a fight between two people. Raven went to investigate, and realized it was between Alex and man who seemed to be holding his own.

Raven took out her communicator and reached Starfire, "Star, trouble in the food court." Starfire nodded in return, closing the walkie-talkie.

Raven broke through the crowd but as soon as she got to Alex's side, the man jabbed quickly at the side of Alex's neck, causing her to gasp in pain as she grabbed her neck and fell to the ground. Raven rushed to her side, and as soon as she did the man fled the scene.

"Are you alright?" Raven asked.

"Yeah...that just really hurt." Alex said, slowly rolling her neck. Just then, Starfire arrived.

"Where is the trouble?" She asked, ready to fight.

"He left." Alex answered

"Who was that?" Raven asked, getting up.

Alex glowered, "John." She said disdainfully.

"You saw him and you didn't tell us?" Raven asked, anger rising.

"I don't have one of those fancy Titan-talkie things..." Alex tried.

"You saw him before that." Raven saw through her excuse.

Alex sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry! I just wanted to ask him some questions! Wouldn't you?"

"And how did that work out?" Raven retorted.

Alex shook her head, not wanting to deal with anything, "You know what, forget you." She said, walking towards the mall exit.

"Friends, please!" Starfire begged, "We must resolve this! The matter at hand is John; we must tell the others of him being here."

"Is it okay if I just meet you there later? I don't really feel like dealing with 'ohmygod Alex why didn't you tell anyone he was there you're such an idiot'" She said, waving her hands exaggeratedly into the air as she walked out the doors.

Raven and Starfire looked at each other and in moments were in an understanding. Raven began following Alex out the door while Starfire made her way back to the Tower.

* * *

><p><em>Uhh...cliffhanger? O_o<em>

_Song: Crawl - Breaking Benjamin._

_This one was hard to choose, so it might not exactly fit right...eh._

_Anyway, thanks for reading! :)  
><em>


	11. Deep Down

_Thanks again to my beta reader Darth Azrael and the readers and reviewers :)_

_And again, sorry for the late update :(_

__

* * *

><strong>Deep Down<strong>_  
><em>

Alex walked a few blocks, knowing she had a stalker in tow. She didn't really mind as long as she didn't say anything to her. Satisfied that she had absolutely no idea where she was going, she took the next turn to her right, but was completely surprised when she came across a suburban park and playground. Also to her surprise, no one was actually there on a weekend evening. Shrugging to herself she hopped on one of the two swings and began idly pushing herself back and forth with her foot. The next thing she knew, Raven was sitting on the other swing, staying completely still.

It would have been silent if it weren't for the squeaking swing set as Alex continued to idly swing back and forth.

Raven decided to break their silence by saying, "I wasn't calling you an idiot."

Alex shrugged, "Yeah well, I sure feel like one. I don't know what I was thinking. He never liked me before, why would he answer any of my questions now?" she asked rhetorically, and after a heartbeat of silence, "I _hate_ him. For everything he's done."

She said, gripping the swing set so hard her knuckles were turning white. She decided she needed a change of subject, before she went insane. "Heh, you know what's funny? Back home, there was this playground I always used to go to when I was upset. I kind of like this. I'm surprised there's no one here, really."

"There's a bigger one a couple blocks away, they're going to tear this down and make it into something." Raven replied.

"Oh, that sucks. This is a nice little place." Alex said, and yet another silence took over them. "Raven, were there any playgrounds where you grew up?"

Struck by the question, Raven at first didn't reply, but eventually found her words, "No. I was raised in a monastery by monks, and I wasn't supposed to leave anyway."

"Oh.", was all Alex said.

"There was this one monk though;" Raven continued, letting a smile creep onto her face, "He was like a father to me. Once he snuck me out and brought me to a playground when I was little, and we stayed there all day just...being free." She shrugged.

Alex smiled as she continued to swing idly back and forth, "That sounds fun. He sounds like a cool guy."

Raven nodded, "But when we got back, they caught us, and it was his third offence—that they knew of—so they banished him. I never left the monastery again until I came here."

"Did you ever see him again?" Alex asked. Raven simply shook her head no. "I'm sorry." Alex said, brows knitted up in concern. "That's terrible."

Raven wasn't sure what else to say, and quite frankly didn't want to continue on the subject, so she decided it was her turn to change it by asking Alex something that had been nagging at her mind for quite sometime now. "Alex," She began.

"Hm?"

"Do you remember the interview with Chad Williams?" She asked

"Of course," Alex said, rolling her eyes at the memory, "How could I forget?"

"Why did you say that you looked up to me?" Raven asked, finding herself not able to look at Alex.

"Oh...uh..." Alex chuckled nervously, looking away as a slight blush found its way to her cheeks. She was honestly surprised that Raven had heard that. She decided to go ahead and tell the truth, "Well...please don't get mad, but Beast Boy told me a little about what happened with Trigon and everything, and it's just...I don't know." Alex shrugged after a moment, "I can't help but look up to you for defeating him despite how you must have felt, and after _everything _he put you through. It must have been difficult." Alex paused, sighing. "God, this all probably sounds really corny."

"No." Raven said, after getting over the initial shock of Alex's words. "I...appreciate it. I couldn't have done it without everyone else, though."

Alex nodded as she continued to idly swing back and forth until she felt her whole body begin to warm up rather rapidly. She stopped swinging, and looked at Raven to see if she had felt the same random effect. However, she continued to look straight ahead of her like nothing was going on so it was safe for Alex to assume it was only happening to her. Quickly following that, Alex suddenly became overpoweringly sleepy. At this point, she knew something was wrong.

"Raven," Alex drawled, fighting to keep her eyes open, "I don't feel so good..." She said, and fell to the ground in front of her, unconscious. Shocked and confused, Raven knelt before Alex and tried to wake Alex to no avail.

Quickly teleporting to the medical bay in the Titans Tower, Raven laid Alex down on one of the beds and called Robin and Cyborg to tell them of the news.

They both immediately made it to the room, "Whoa, what happened?" Cyborg asked.

"I don't know. We were just sitting there and then she collapsed." Raven explained.

"Okay. I'll run diagnostics." Cyborg said, dashing to the computers.

"Do you think this has anything to do with Cavallo?" Robin asked Raven.

"It has to. I can't see any other explanation." Raven said.

"Did you see anything during the fight?" Cyborg questioned as he started hooking Alex up to the computer.

"I only caught the last glimpse. He got her in the neck." Raven said, looking over Alex.

The three of them looked at each other then crowded around Alex as Cyborg moved her hair away from her neck and looked closely, "A needle mark." Robin said.

"I can't believe I missed that." Raven said, cursing herself. "Why would it take affect now though? It happened more than an hour ago."

"There are a couple answers to that question. Let me run some tests and get back to you." Cyborg answered, typing up a storm on the computer. After about a half hour of silence and worry, Cyborg exclaimed "Aha!"

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Check it out.", Cyborg said, brining a still image up on the monitor, "Nanobots. Each one was filled with a microscopic amount of pentothal. The were rigged with an activation switch so he could release it into her blood stream whenever he wanted to. I really don't like this kid." Cyborg shook his head.

"Can you wake her up?" Raven asked, with a slight hint of hope in her voice.

"Naw, it's best to just ride it out. It'll only be another hour, give or take, anyway." Cyborg answered. Suddenly a beeping noise came from the computer, "Hey, now, what's this?" He asked as he typed away at the computer, "Somebody's trying to hack through the firewall into the security system?" He continued, more talking to himself then anyone else. "Oh-ho, no. Not on my watch."

"Who do you think it is?" Robin asked, then a heartbeat later, "Cavallo?"

"Who else would it be? Especially now? Too many coincidences." Raven said.

"Okay...so why would he want Alex unconscious and why would he want to see it happen?" Robin asked.

"I really don't know." Cyborg said, after thinking for a few moments. He shrugged and turned to Alex, who was still lying on the medical bed. "Guess all we have to do now is wait until she wakes up."

"I'll watch her." Raven volunteered.

"I'm sure you will." Cyborg commented holding back a smirk, glancing at Robin who didn't bother do hold back his. Raven furrowed her brows together trying to figure out what joke the two clearly were in on that she didn't know about.

"Whatever. I'm going to get my book." By the time she got back, the room was already empty, much to her relief. She didn't really want to deal with some more jokes she didn't even understand. However, just as she opened her book, Starfire rushed into the room, wracked with concern.

"Oh, Raven! Is Alex going to persevere?" She asked immediately.

"Yeah, Star, she should be fine. Didn't you talk to Cyborg and Robin?" Raven asked as she opened her book anyways.

Starfire suddenly looked bashful and started poking her index fingers together, "Heh heh, well, you see, as soon as I heard the troubling news of Alex being unconscious, I rushed here as fast as I could..."

Raven shrugged and looked down at her book and began to read, "She'll be _fine_, Star." She repeated.

"Okay. I am glad to hear that." Starfire said, and began exiting the room. Raven exhaled a sigh of relief at the silence as she continued to read, before suddenly Starfire ran back into the room, "Oh! I had nearly forgotten! Did you and Alex do the kissing and the making up after your argument?"

Raven nodded mutely as she read, but after a heartbeat she looked up at Starfire, confusion written all over her face, "What?"

"Did you and Alex do the kissing and the—"

"I heard what you _said_, I meant, what do you mean...where did you hear that?" Raven asked, furrowing her brows.

"I had told the others about your argument with Alex and they said that you two needed to 'kiss and make up' and then they all started laughing...is that funny for some reason? I do not get it, Raven. If the two of you wanted to kiss, should you not kiss? When I said this to the others, they just laughed even harder." Starfire pouted as she explained innocently.

Raven closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose before she looked back up at Starfire, who was honestly confused. She cared for Starfire, but sometimes her confusion of Earth customs was annoying. "Star...'kiss and make up' is a saying that means we needed to get over our differences and just get over it. It literally has nothing to do with kissing. Alex and I are friends. Nothing more." Raven said, her eyes drifting over to Alex as she lay on the medical bed. She was surprised at how easily she could call Alex her friend now. Though, this thing with Starfire did explain Cyborg's earlier comment.

"Oh. I apologize for my misunderstanding." Starfire said, slightly sullen.

"Its okay, Star. Don't worry about it." Raven said.

Starfire nodded, smiling, "Thank you, Raven. I think I shall return to the others now." She said as she exited the room.

Raven let out another sigh as she sat on the bed next to Alex, and once again began to read. She found for the second time that day that her thoughts wouldn't let her concentrate on the book she was reading. Instead, her thoughts wandered to the conversation she just had with Starfire.

Did the guys really think that about her and Alex? She knew they were just kidding...but, _really_? Raven knew she warmed up to Alex rather quickly compared to most other people, but that was just because Robin pushed her.

Wait—she wasn't going to do this. Not all this analyzing. There wasn't anything _to _analyze. She and Alex were simply friends, nothing more. Just like she'd told Starfire.

Raven's eyes drifted over Alex as she remembered the purple blouse she'd tried on earlier and how it hugged her curves. Raven's face suddenly became flushed and she immediately looked away, embarrassed by the thought. She the decided it would be best to sit in the chair in the corner of the room, and proceeded to concentrate on her book, no matter how hard it was.

After about an hour of very loose reading, Raven heard a mumble come from Alex. Raven was immediately at her side, "Alex?" She asked, carefully.

"Mmh..."Alex murmured.

"Alex, can you hear me?" Raven asked.

"Mhmm..." Alex answered, slowly opening her eyes then quickly shutting them again, "Bright." She mumbled.

Raven quickly rushed over and dimmed the lights, "That should be better." She said as she got back to Alex's side.

Alex opened her eyes again and after slowly taking in her surroundings asked groggily, "Why do I have all these things attached to me and why do I feel like crap?"

"You went unconscious at the playground. Cavallo gave you a shot of Pentothal, but made it so he could release it whenever he wanted it to. He also tried to hack into the security cameras." Raven explained.

Alex shook her head in disbelief, throwing her hands into the air haphazardly. "Well that's just _awesome._", she said, trying to get up only to realize the wires from the computer were holding her back. She sighed, irritated, "Can I take these off?"

"We better wait for Cyborg." Raven stated, wanting to be on the careful side. She quickly called the rest of the Titans and told them about Alex waking up. They soon arrived, each giving Alex a hug.

"I am relieved that you are okay, Alex!" Starfire said, hugging Alex.

"Thanks, Star." Alex said. She looked up at Cyborg, "Can I take these off now?" She said, motioning at the wires attached to her head.

"I should run a few more tests first. Just to be careful." Cyborg answered, making Alex sigh in irritation again. "Don't worry, they should be fast." He said as he started typing on the computer.

"Alex, tell us what happened between you and Cavallo." Robin urged.

Alex rolled her head to the side, not really wanting to talk about it. However, she knew Robin wouldn't let it go so she decided to go ahead anyway, "I saw him in the food court, so I went up to him asked him what he was doing—"

"Why didn't you tell Rae and Star you saw him?" Beast Boy asked, confused.

"I didn't want to start a big fight; I just wanted to talk to him..." Alex explained, albeit irritated. This really was the part she wanted to avoid all along.

"What did you two talk about?" Robin asked, straining his voice. Alex wasn't certain if he was holding back anger or not.

Alex sighed, "I asked him what he was doing there, but he didn't really give an answer. He asked me to join him and Slade, I said no. Then we started talking about our past and then we fought."

"Wait—what?" Beast Boy asked, thinking that he heard wrong. "He asked you to _join _him? Like, 'Luke, join the Dark Side' join?"

"That's what he said." Alex nodded.

"_Why_?" Beast Boy asked again.

Shrugging, Alex answered, "Dunno, but when I said no, he said he was going to Plan B."

"Do you think Plan B has anything to do with any of this?" Robin interjected, motioning to the now deactivated nanobots.

"Knowing John, probably. But I have no idea what any of _this_ means." Alex answered, waving her fingers around.

"I don't like your tone." Robin stated, sounding so much like his mentor everyone in the room, with the exception of Alex, took a subconscious step back.

Alex rolled her eyes, "Sorry," She said in a way that indicated that she really wasn't, "My brother is working with your arch enemy and injected me with an anesthetic for some unknown reason. I think I'm inclined to a little 'attitude'."

"Okay, the tests are done. Alex, you seem fine. I can't find any reason to keep you here." Cyborg interrupted as turned away from his computer, not wanting an argument. With a sigh of relief, Alex immediately began taking off the wires attached to her head. "How do you feel?"

"Eh...sleepy. My head hurts a little. Other than that, fine." Alex answered.

"You should just take it easy for a while then." Cyborg said.

Alex rolled her eyes, "Yes, doctor." Cyborg smirked.

Free from the wires, Alex jumped off the bed. However, a second too late she realized this was a bad idea as it caused a dizzy spell, and made he start to fall backwards.

"Be careful." Raven warned as she placed a hand on Alex's back, helping her to balance out before she fell back on the bed.

Alex blinked and shook her head from the dizzy spell, "Thanks. I guess I'm worse off then I thought." She chuckled nervously, before adding to Cyborg, "But I don't need to stay."

"Aww...look at you two. You really _did _kiss and make up!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he made a kissy face towards Raven and Alex.

"Uh...what?" Alex asked, clearly confused.

Raven walked over to Beast Boy and smacked him upside the head, "Ow!"

"Beast Boy, I'm afraid you are confused. The term 'kiss and make up' does not have anything to with the kissing, and Raven and Alex are merely friends." Starfire explained matter-of-factly to Beast Boy. Raven sighed deeply and placed her head in her palm as the boys started laughing.

"Whoa. What did _I_ miss?" Alex asked, looking at the other occupants of the room

"Nothing." Raven said a little too quickly, only making the boys laugh harder. Raven glared at them, causing there laughter to die down some as Starfire looked around confusedly.

"Was I not correct, Raven?"

"You were right, Star. They're just idiots."

"...Anyway..." Alex started through the laughter, "I'm going to get something to eat, I'm starving." She said, quickly making her way out of the room. Raven followed, wanting nothing more than to be away from the idiotic laughter. "Seriously, what was that about?" Alex asked.

"Nothing. They're just being morons." Raven repeated.

"Oookay." Alex said

They entered the common room, and Alex immediately made her way to the kitchen as Raven made her way to her usual spot. Alex decided that she felt like eating apple slices. Getting out an apple and a knife, she started carving away. However, on her second slice, her grip slipped and as she tried to compose herself, the knife reached the edge of the counter. As she tried to catch it before it fell over, she accidentally ended up tossing it to her other hand, then as she tossed it back to her dominant hand, it ended up flying straight into the air. She reached out to catch it, but a moment later realized this was a bad idea and decided she was going to let it phase through her hand and land on the counter. As soon as she activated her power, a sharp pain ran through her head, causing her to grunt and immediately deactivate it. The knife came flying down and protruded itself right in the palm of Alex's hand, causing her eyes to widen in shock as blood started gushing out.

"Raven." Alex squeaked. No reply. Raven was actually _concentrating _on her book, and she'd like to keep it that way, so she simply ignored the entire commotion she heard. "There's a knife in my hand."

"Your observation skills are frightening." Raven stated, head still buried in her book.

"No...I mean—just look please." Alex said, grunting from the pain.

Raven sighed and looked up to see Alex holding out her hand with her face scrunched up in pain as a knife was indeed protruding from her palm, "What happened?" Raven demanded.

"I—it—the knife—gaahhh!" She said, frustrated, thrusting her hurt hand towards Raven for emphasis, as if that would explain everything, "My power isn't working!" Alex finally got out. "I tried to use it and it gave me a sharp pain in my head...just like that time in Tennessee..."

"Give me your hand." Raven commanded, and Alex walked over, doing as Raven said. "This is going to hurt."

"Ahh...ouch, ouch." Alex groaned in pain while Raven quickly pulled the knife out, as blood spilled over the table. Raven immediately began healing the wound, giving Alex almost instant relief. The wound completely healed after a minute and Alex sighed happily, "Thanks."

Raven nodded, "We should tell the others about your power."

Cyborg walked in, followed by the others, "What about her power?"

"It's not working. Like the time I was drugged in Tennessee. This whole thing is getting ridiculous." Alex said, becoming angry

Robin's masked brows furrowed in deep thought as the rest of the group continued to talk.

"It'll wear off, right?" Beast Boy asked, worried.

"Yeah. I mean, it did then. You'd think it would now. But still..."

"Sorry, Alex. I should have had you check that before you left." Cyborg said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it." Alex shrugged.

"...What's with all the blood everywhere?" Beast Boy asked, just noticing the blood on the counter and table.

"Oh...uh, just...don't ask." Alex replied sheepishly.

"Guys." Robin said suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. "What if _this_ is Cavallo's Plan B, to somehow temporarily render Alex powerless?"

Everyone stood around quietly as they absorbed the information Robin had given them.

"But like...why?" Beast Boy seemed to be the only one brave, or stupid enough to break the silence.

"I don't know. Alex, do you have any ideas?" Robin turned to her.

Alex looked deep in thought while she contemplated what he could want. Not really coming up with anything she answered with a small chuckle, "Uhh, to kill me? I really have no idea." Her answer was met by five sets of glares, "Sorry." She said, looking down. "John and I were practically strangers growing up. All I know about him is that he's smart, and he'll pretty much do anything to get what he wants."

"I thought you said you watched him play chess when you were little." Robin countered.

"Chyeah, he'd be on the stage and I'd be on the ground with all the other little brothers and sisters while we waited for them. It's not like he invited me to spend some quality time with him." Alex explained. Robin sighed, nodding in understanding.

"Uhh...what are we going to do about her power not working?" Beast Boy asked, somewhat frantic.

"I guess there's nothing we can do but wait." Robin answered grudgingly with a small shrug. "If what Alex says is true, and the same thing happened in Tennessee, then it should wear off in a little while. It also makes some sense of why Cavallo was trying to hack into the security system; as if he was trying to see if it worked or something." He finished with his brows furrowed in thought.

"I...really hate him." Alex muttered disdainfully.

Starfire suddenly yawned, causing a chain reaction around the room. Robin nodded again, "Why don't we all get some sleep? It's been a long day."

"Best idea I've heard all night. Goodnight y'all." Cyborg said, exiting the room.

"Pleasant dreams, everyone." Starfire called.

"Night guys!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Night, you guys." Robin said, before turning back towards Alex, "We'll figure this out."

Alex nodded and even added a small smile, hoping he was right.

"Goodnight, Alex." Raven said.

"Night." Alex said, walking over to the couch, "Hey, thanks for...well, everything you did today." Raven nodded before heading to her room.

XXX

A good half hour had passed before Raven realized she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. The reason for this was simple; once she had entered her room and placed her head on her pillow, relishing in the peace and quiet, that same _damn_ song from that morning kept repeating in her head over and over again. What was worse—or better, she wasn't really sure—she was hearing it in Alex's voice.

_You make love to everything you touch, it's a natural reaction, it's a sensual attraction,you play me like I am made of strings, I'm the violin, a melody I want your lips to sing, if you only knew how hard it is to handle, how bad I want a scandal._

Raven groaned and uncharacteristically punched her pillow in annoyance. She couldn't believe after everything she went through that day, the stupid song was still there. She had to hear that song one more time to get it out of her head. She knew that would make everything okay.

Getting up, she made her way to the computer room and sat down in front of the computer. Step one finished. She nearly face-palmed when she realized she had no idea what the song was called, or who it was by; and there was no way she was going to go ask Alex.

Step two: search the lyrics. Raven opened up a search engine and began typing in some of the lyrics she knew, hoping it was enough.

"What are you doing?"

Raven nearly started in surprise, for the second time that day. She was losing it.

She turned around to see Cyborg leaning against the door frame before he walked farther into the room.

"I thought you went to sleep." Raven said, turning back towards the computer.

"Yeah, so did you. What are you doing up?" Cyborg asked.

"I wanted to look something up." Raven answered.

"Yeah? Like what?" he asked as he got closer to the screen.

"I thought you went to sleep." She repeated.

Cyborg chuckled, "I made it so I get warned whenever anyone is on at night. Beast Boy keeps getting on in the middle of the night to look at—"

"If you finish that sentence I swear I'll—"

"Myspace." He smirked. "He's addicted to Myspace and Facebook." Not able to hold back his curiosity, Cyborg asked again, "So really, what are you looking up?"

Raven gave a defeated sigh, "A song."

"Really?" He asked, raising a brow in disbelief. Raven usually didn't go for music.

"Yes." Was all she said.

Shaking his head with a smirk, he understood that Raven wanted to be alone, "Alright. I'm going back to bed. Good luck."

"Goodnight." She called as he left. She continued to type in the lyrics she knew for the song then hit 'enter', clicking the first song that popped up.

Step three: listen to the song. Sighing with relief, it turned out to be the exact song she was looking for. As she listened, through the most part, she found herself pretending Alex was singing. She didn't think too much about this as it was through Alex she first heard the song, anyway. After the song finished, she sighed contently, turning the computer off.

Returning to her room, she lay back down in her bed, resting her head on her pillow and pulling her covers over her, ready for sleep to finally take over her.

Step four: sleep. As she closed her eyes, contentment filled her as she once again relished the peace and quiet.

XXX

The next morning Raven went to the common room as per her usual morning ritual. She was a little surprised to see Alex still sleeping when she entered. After her tea she sat down and began reading. Not before long, though, she began to feel an intense presence of fear and sorrow. Not knowing where it was coming from, she looked up from her book, and over at the couch where Alex was, who she assumed was still sleeping. She got up from the table and went over to Alex and noticed Alex's face was slightly scrunched as if she were in pain. After a closer look, Raven saw a single tear fall from Alex's eye.

_She must be having a nightmare..._Raven thought.

Raven reached down and gently shook Alex's shoulder, trying to wake her. As soon as Raven did, Alex's eyes shot open as she jumped up, looking around at her surroundings before she started quietly crying in her hands.

Raven, confused, didn't know what else to say other than, "It's okay, it was just a nightmare."

Not daring to look up, Alex mumbled as she shook her head, "No. It happened."

"Whatever it was, it's in the past. You can't change it." Raven said.

"I miss her." Alex sniffled, as she placed her feet on the ground in a sitting position. Raven took it as an opportunity to sit next to her.

"Who?"

"My mom." Alex answered, trying to wipe the tears away as new ones appeared. "I wasn't enough for her."

Confused, Raven asked, "What do you mean?"

"She..." Alex swallowed the lump in her throat, "She killed herself. Overdose. I wasn't enough."

"Don't say that about yourself." Raven chided. "People who commit suicide only think about themselves."

"She was fine until dad died." Alex's brows furrowed at the memories, "Then she started drinking and stuff again...dad had gotten her off of all that when they met. But she kept blaming his death on herself."

"What made her think that?"

"I really don't know." Alex sniffled again, followed by silence except for Alex's few sobs.

Raven decided to go a step further, hoping she wasn't stepping over any boundaries, "What made you think of all this now?"

Alex shrugged, "John and I kind of talked about her a little yesterday, so I guess it just has me thinking of her." Raven nodded, still feeling the anguish that was coming from Alex.

"I understand. Sometimes I still think about Azarath." She confided.

"Do you miss it?"

"Sometimes." She nodded again.

"I dislike this feeling. Intensely." Alex mumbled with a sniffle as she placed her chin in her hand, resting her elbow on her knee.

"I know. But you should try and go back to sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up." Raven advised before getting up.

Alex nodded, knowing she was probably right. "Okay. And...thanks."

"Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep." Raven said, returning to the table. Alex lay back down and covered herself with the blanket. As she shut her eyes, she realized that talking to Raven had somehow made her feel a little bit better.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Deep Down - Saosin<em>

_This chapter was meh.  
><em>


	12. Kissed A Girl

_Thanks to Darth Azrael; he's an awesome beta reader. :) Also thanks to mah readers and reviewers as always!_

_Since I've been updating kind of late these past couple chapters, I decided to do this one early. I hope that makes a few of you happy._

_By the way, don't get too excited by the name of this chapter. Loll._

__

* * *

><strong>Kissed A Girl<strong>_  
><em>

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy and Alex all gathered in the common room, sitting on the couch as they waited for Robin to begin the announcements. Starfire was standing next to him looking rather flustered, which, to say the least, was not normal.

First of all, announcements were usually in the morning. Secondly, announcements were usually on _Sunday _morning. And last but not least, Starfire usually did not stand next to Robin when announcements were made, but sat down with the rest of the team. This made the rest of the group stare at the two in wonder.

Robin cleared his throat, blushing as he reached for Starfire's hand and clasped it in his own. Four sets of brows shot up in awe. "You guys...I'd like to announce that Starfire and I...are...inarelationship." He rushed out, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

"Y'all are what now?" Cyborg asked, perfectly aware of what was going on but not being able to resist poking fun at the two.

Starfire, not being able to meet the gaze of anyone, continued for Robin while she blushed as well, "We are...what you call...a couple." She finished, hiding behind Robin.

Alex smirked at how honestly adorable they were being. She looked over to Raven and noticed the smile playing at her lips, seemingly happy for her teammates as well.

"Congratulations!" Alex was the first to say, as she got off the couch, followed by the rest of the group.

"Yeah, it's about time you two got together." Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Just—one thing. No little Robins running around my Tower, okay? This place is enough of a mess with just us." Cyborg smirked. Robin and Starfire's eyes widened, both blushing uncontrollably as everyone else began laughing.

Beast Boy suddenly wrapped his arm around Robin's shoulder, dragging him away from the rest of the group while trying to be as nonchalant as possible—and failing. Curious, Cyborg followed and listened in on the conversation. "So, how far have you gotten?" Beast Boy asked, probably louder than he thought. "First base?" Cyborg face-palmed while Robin desperately tried to get away. "Second base?" Beast Boy asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Robin tried even harder to get away but Beast Boy had a death grip around his shoulders. He felt like a trapped animal. "_Third _base?" He asked unbelievably.

"Dude, enough." Cyborg said with his head in his palm.

"I'm afraid I do not understand." Starfire said innocently to the other girls. "Why are they suddenly talking about Earth sports?"

Raven bowed her head and sighed. Alex looked like she was about to explain but Raven lifted her hand to stop her and said, "Just...don't."

Alex looked over at the guys, and feeling pity for Robin she decided to jump in, "So...who wants some ice cream?"

Silence developed the room as they stopped to turn and stare at Alex, who just shrugged,

"...Is that a yes?"

Starfire was the first to speak up, "I believe that we do not have any."

"Perfect! Let's go out to an ice cream shop! Doesn't that sound awesome right now?" Alex asked.

Robin, finally catching on, added, "Yeah—yeah, that does sound pretty good right now. How about it guys?"

Beast Boy finally let go of his death grip around Robin's shoulders, "Psh, yeah! Like I'm turning down ice cream."

"I too would enjoy the sugary sweets of the creamed ice." Starfire added.

"That settles that, Raven, you comin'? Cyborg asked.

"Yeah, she's coming." Alex answered.

"...I asked Raven." Cyborg said, confused.

"Yeah—no, she's coming." Alex repeated. Raven looked over at Alex incredulously.

XXX

At the Ice Cream Shop Raven was the first to order, and quickly sat down, immediately followed by Alex who sat down next to her as they waited for the rest of the group. Alex realized shortly after staying with the Titans that most of them take a really long time to decide what they want at restaurants or other places, or spent half the time arguing about what they're going to get. But she didn't mind sitting with Raven; she had a plan anyway.

"So, Raven," She started, "What did you get?"

"Vanilla." Raven stated as she put a spoonful in her mouth.

"Psh, you're such a Plain Jane sometimes, Raven." Alex said, waving her hand.

"Maybe I like being plain," Raven said, "What did you get?"

"A white chocolate bar." Alex grinned. Raven's movements faulted midway through her scoop, before she continued poking at her ice cream. "Want some?"

"No thanks."

"You sure? It's good."

"You haven't even opened it yet."

"I already know it's delicious."

"I said no thanks."

"You know I'm kinda gonna get you to try this today, right." Alex said, firmly believing in herself.

"You really aren't." Raven countered.

"Okay." Alex said, disbelieving as she opened the bar and took a bite out of the corner. "Mmm."

Raven rolled her eyes. Really, Alex would have to do better than that.

Silence.

"I seriously think you'll like it." Alex started again.

"No."

Silence.

"Raven, a perfectly good ice cream bar is _melting_ here. Just try it, _please_." Alex begged, turning towards Raven and waving the bar hypnotically back and forth in front of her face.

"I said no." Raven repeated.

Silence.

"Those people will stop staring at us if you just take a bite." Alex reasoned.

"What people?" Raven asked, looking around. Sure enough, there was a small group of people sitting in the corner quite certainly watching them. Sighing, Raven said, "I don't care."

After about a beat of silence, "Open up the tunnel, here comes the _trai_—"

"Alex. Do you remember when you told me to remind you not to make me angry?"

Alex's smile faded as she turned towards the table, resting her head in her hand. Raven went back to her ice cream before she heard a scoff from the table in the corner and turned around to see the group of people literally _glaring _at her. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to her ice cream, but before she did she noticed Alex looking rather sullen. Raven suddenly felt a pang of guilt rise inside her. What was it about her that made her feel guilty all the time? Looking at the ice cream bar Alex was holding, Raven sighed and grabbed it from her hand, much to Alex's surprise, and quickly took a bite from it before handing it back to Alex.

After Alex got over the initial shock of what just happened, she grinned from ear to ear. "So?" She asked excitedly.

After Raven finished chewing, she came to the realization that she actually enjoyed it. However, she wasn't sure if she wanted to share this with Alex, because she didn't want it to be shoved in her face on a daily basis. But when she saw the mixture of hope, excitement, and laughter in Alex's eyes, she couldn't help but tell the truth, "Its...better than I thought it would be."

"Yes!" Alex continued to grin, "I knew you'd like it; here, you can have this one. I'll go get another."

Raven blinked as Alex thrust the ice cream bar into her hand, and left to go get one for herself. Beast Boy walked up with an impossibly large banana split, sitting across from Raven, "Where was Alex off to in such a rush?...And why are you holding her ice cream bar?"

"...Its mine now apparently." Raven said, grudgingly taking a bite.

"Oookay." Beast Boy said, digging into his banana split. Soon enough, Cyborg walked up with a hot fudge sundae while Robin and Starfire looked like they were sharing a shake.

"How cute." Alex said as she sat next to Raven, another ice cream bar already opened in hand, "They're _sharing._" Robin just rolled his eyes.

"So Raven, whatcha got there?" Cyborg asked, noting the forgotten bowl of ice cream in front of her.

Raven narrowed her eyes at Cyborg before Alex answered for her happily, "A white chocolate ice cream bar."

"Oh?" He asked, smirking, "Is it any good?"

"...Yes, surprisingly." Raven answered grudgingly, as Alex happily took a bite of her own ice cream bar.

"Wait, Ravens eating chocolate?" Beast Boy asked, momentarily taking a break from his banana split.

"White chocolate doesn't even count as chocolate by FDA standards—" Raven began.

"_Raven's_ eating _chocolate_!" Beast Boy exclaimed, making Raven glare him. She flicked a finger, and a small spark of black lightning danced around it. As Beast Boy dipped his spoon into his ice cream, a wave of black energy swept across it before it exploded, covering him in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and chunks of banana.

Alex laughed, "It's okay Raven, just enjoy it. Let the happy endorphins _fill your brain_."

Raven rolled her eyes while she took another bite, as the entire group grew quiet while they all enjoyed their miscellaneous treats.

Cyborg burped as he patted his stomach, "Now _that_ was good."

"I don't think I can eat another bite..." Beast Boy said, looking mournfully at the last bits of his banana split.

"That was a wonderful treat, I enjoyed it immensely" Starfire said, nodding vigorously as Robin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, good idea, Alex." He said.

She shrugged with her head in her hand as she twirled the now empty popsicle stick in her other hand, "I'm chalk-full of 'em." Alex said, noticing Raven holding her popsicle stick idly in her hand. "Whoopish.", she said, lightly attacking it with her own.

Raven stared blankly at Alex before she dropped the stick all together, "Ah. You win."

Alex chuckled, "You're no fun, Raven."

Beast Boy immediately picked up the popsicle stick from the table and exclaimed while holding it up in the air, "Alex, I challenge you to a _duel_!"

"Aha, you are no match for my powers!" Alex shouted back, and with that the two began mock fighting each other. Each of them acted as if their popsicle stick were a sword, while Beast Boy made light saber sound effects.

"Shewww, shewww—blocked! Sheww..."

"I can't believe I know you two." Raven stated, looking away.

"Hey, they gotta entertain themselves somehow." Cyborg shrugged as he defended them.

Suddenly, Beast Boy's popsicle stick cracked and broke in half, sending half of it flying straight into his forehead.

"Ha! Force field breached! I win!" Alex exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes. "Lucky break..."

Alex giggled, looking at the clock, "Oh, snap. We better get back or we'll miss her."

"Who? What?" Robin asked, confused.

"Becca. She's all moved in from Arizona. So I invited her over, didn't I tell you?" Alex smirked.

"...No."

"Oh...are you sure?" Alex asked, making it quite clear that she was sure she didn't. Then it struck for Robin. She was getting him back for the Chad Williams incident. Robin sank in his seat.

"Fair enough..."

XXX

"_Please_ Alex?" Becca begged, following Alex.

"For the love of god, no!" Alex threw her hands in the air, exasperated as she walked farther away.

Back at the Tower, Alex was pretty certain that the whole 'inviting Becca' plan had backfired. The whole time, Becca had only been bothering Alex, much to Robin's amusement. Even if he didn't know what it was about, Robin was perfectly content with watching TV with the others while listening to Becca continuously plead and beg for _something_.

"But you _pinky swore_, Alex! You can't go back on a pinky swear! Do you know what that _means_?" Becca continued

"Actually, no. I don't. What does it mean?" Alex demanded.

"It...well...I don't know! But it can't be good for your karma!" Becca said, waving her arms in front of Alex frantically, making Alex snort in response. "_Alex_," She drawled, "stop being so mean to me..."

"_I'm_ being mean to _you_?" Alex countered_, _"You're not even taking my feelings into consideration!"

Becca gasped dramatically, "Of course I am! After what happened, a night out is exactly what you need!"

"Not _that_ kind of night out, Becca." Alex said.

"But you _promised_." Becca repeated for about the billionth time, even throwing in her big ole puppy eyes. Alex had to look away, or she knew she wouldn't be able to resist.

"What are they even talking about?" Beast Boy asked during a commercial break.

"I dunno." Cyborg answered with a shrug.

"I believe Alex has made some sort of pinky pact with Becca that once Kyle and she had stopped dating, Alex would take her on a date." Starfire answered.

Cyborg immediately muted the TV and the room became silent "...What?" he asked.

Alex, noticing the sudden silence, turned to see that everyone in the room was suddenly looking at her and Becca standing behind the couch. Alex blushed furiously while Becca just waved innocently.

Alex then noticed Raven with a curious brow raised as she looked up from her book, making Alex blush even harder if that was possible.

"I can explain—" Alex began.

"Alex is going on a lesbi-date!" Beast Boy beamed.

Alex glared daggers at Beast Boy, "If you ever call it that again I'm seriously going to kill you. I can hide your body, you know."

"Wait, does that mean you're going to do it?" Becca asked, hopeful.

"...I guess. Just _once. _And don't go around shouting to everyone 'we're on a date'. 'Cause I can totally see you doing that."

"Yes! We're going on date!" Becca shouted.

Alex face-palmed.

"What? _They_ already know anyway."

"So..." Beast Boy started. "Are you two...gonna, you know, kiss? Make out?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Before Alex could answer, Becca zoomed over to Beast Boy, "Tch, yeah. All dates end in a kiss." Becca said matter-of-factly.

"Ooooh. Picture please?"

"I would, but then I think Alex would get mad." Becca replied with a pout.

Beast Boy leaned over and whispered to Becca, "You know, if I get Cyborg's help, we can probably install a few secret video cameras."

"You know I can still hear you, right?" Alex said, still face-palmed.

"And I ain't helpin' you with this." Cyborg said.

"You guys are no fun." Becca said.

"Meh." Alex shrugged, "You're lucky I'm even doing this."

"Touché. But we're going to have so much fun! Don't forget your money!" Becca shouted as she made her way out of the common room, only to come back in slightly embarrassed a few moments later, "Uhh...can someone show me the way out? Heh..."

Alex grinned and showed Becca the way to the door, "Now, you know how to get home, right?"

Becca playfully punched Alex in the arm, "Shut up, it's a big place." She said, before placing a quick peck on Alex's cheek. "Just practicing for tonight" she winked.

Alex rolled her eyes, "See you later."

XXX

Alex dragged her feet into the common room at 2 in the morning.

"Hey Raven." She waved tiredly to the girl sitting at the kitchen table.

Plopping down on the couch and laying her head on the pillow, not caring that her shoes were still on. Closing her eyes, she pulled the blanket over herself and sighed contently.

Suddenly Alex's eyes shot open in the realization that she wasn't the only one in the room.

"_Raven_?" She asked as she stood up, turning around to meet the half-amused stare of said girl sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey." Raven said, looking at the already half asleep girl.

"What are you still doing up?" Alex asked, clearly confused. Honestly, Raven was the last person she wanted to see right now.

Raven looked away, slightly flustered. From the very beginning she didn't really like this idea. However, when she voiced her thoughts, it was just met by jokes and harassment; mostly from Beast Boy.

_Flashback._

_Right as Alex left for her 'date', the other Titans all gathered around the common room, discussing what they thought would happen._

"_Don't you guys think that Becca is being inconsiderate of Alex's feelings at the moment?" Raven asked Robin, "She just broke up with Kyle."_

"_Aww." Beast Boy said, walking up to Raven and pinching her cheek, causing her to growl. However Beast Boy seemed not to care as he continued, "How cute. She's jealous!"_

"_...What?" _

"_You're clearly jealous of Alex going on a date with a girl that isn't you!" Beast Boy nodded, proud of himself for coming to that conclusion. Raven immediately slapped him._

"_Ow! But ha! See? If I were wrong, you would have just like...rolled your eyes or something. You totally have a crush on Alex!" He beamed, while Raven glared daggers at him._

"_Actually, I've got to hand it to the little guy, Raven. You two do seem awfully close sometimes. I mean, come on. She got you to play video games, _and _play football, _and_ try chocolate. That kind of means a lot." Cyborg said._

"_And that time you totally groped her ass." Beast Boy added, causing Cyborg to snort from keeping in his laughter while Robin's mouth just twitched slightly._

_Raven growled, "Alex and I are friends, nothing more." She said, defending herself. "I was just worried about how Becca was treating her."_

"_Aw, that little girl? She's just having some fun." Cyborg waved a dismissive hand, "Alex will have fun too, you watch."_

"_Now who wants to bet that they'll actually kiss? I'm in $10." Beast Boy said._

_End Flashback_

Raven was still angry at them for what they thought. It was just plain ridiculous. After all, she was just looking out for Alex.

"I...just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Alex chuckled, "Yeah, make sure Becca didn't 'violate' me or anything? I'm fine, Raven. Thanks."

Raven noticed the slight strain in Alex's voice and felt the anxiety coming from her, "How was your...date?" She asked.

"Actually...it was pretty fun." Alex answered, "But you know, I'm wiped out. I promise I'll tell you all about it—" _mostly _"in the morning, 'kay?"

"Alright, goodnight" Raven said, getting up from her seat.

"'Night." Alex said, laying back down comfortably, "Oh, Raven? Thanks for waiting up for me, that was really..." She wanted to say 'cute', but she knew that Raven wouldn't like that, so she said, "Sweet."

Raven nodded and walked out of the common room, slightly confused. Since when was she 'sweet'?

XXX

Beast Boy stared at the sleeping form of Alex, waiting for her to wake up.

"Alex," He drawled, "Wake up so you can tell us about your date!"

Alex merely mumbled something incoherent in response.

"Come on! You can tell me! I've got a bet riding on this! Did you two kiss?" Beast Boy asked, only to suddenly have Alex's palm thrust into his jaw, effectively knocking him on his rear end. "Ah! Why do you always do that?"

Alex sat up and rubbed her head, yawning, "I'm tired. Why are you guys up so early?"

"Dude, its like, 11 o'clock."

Alex groaned, "I need sleep. Everyone go back to their room or something..."

"Raven said you got back at 2, that's..._nine_ hours of sleep? Geez Alex, how much do you need?" He asked quizzically.

"I didn't fall asleep right away." She answered, annoyed.

"Too busy thinking about your awesome kiss with Becca?" Beast Boy ventured.

"It was just a peck on the cheek, Beast Boy. Get over it." She said.

"Aha! That counts! Give me my money!" Beast Boy exclaimed, running to Cyborg.

"Alex, if you wish to continue your slumber, you may rest in my room." Starfire offered.

"Really? That'd be great, Star. Thanks." Alex said, eternally grateful.

Starfire lead the way to her room and opened the door for Alex. The next thing Alex knew, she was nearly blinded by how bright and pink everything was.

"Would you like for me to play some Tamaran stress reducing melodies to help you rest? Sometimes when I am having the troubles with slumbering, I play it and I quickly fall to slumber."

"Uh...you know what? Sure. Why not." Alex said, sitting down on Starfire's bed.

Starfire pressed the 'play' button, and suddenly Alex heard a god awful screeching sound followed by what sounded like cars crashing and what she could only describe an animal dying.

Alex immediately shot up and turned it off.

"I'm here! What happened!" Beast Boy asked, rushing into the room.

"...It was Starfire's stress reducing melodies." Alex mumbled.

"Oh..."

"Did you not like it?" Starfire asked, confused.

"I think our planets have two different definitions of 'stress reducing'." Alex answered.

"Very well," Starfire said, "If you should need anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

Alex nodded as the two left the room, leaving her alone. She gave a content sigh as she plopped onto the bed, burring her head into the pink pillow as she covered herself under the blankets. Looking around the room she noticed that everything was, indeed, pink. It almost burned her eyes to even look. She noticed a desk close to the bed, and for a quick second wondered if she'd find pink fuzzy handcuffs hidden inside.

_Crap. Becca's getting to me. _Alex thought. _Crap! I just thought about Becca!_

The whole reason she couldn't fall asleep last night was because she was thinking about their 'date', or rather, the last few minutes.

_Flashback _

_Alex walked Becca to her dorm room, with a smile on her face. Despite not looking forward to the night, she actually had a pretty good time. It was just like the times they had before when they were friends, before Alex left._

"_Thanks for doing this, Becca, it was fun." Alex said._

"_Told you so." Becca sing-songed._

_Alex rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I should go. It's getting late; see you tomorrow?"_

"_Wait!" Becca called as Alex turned to leave, "You still have to give me my goodnight kiss." She grinned as Alex turned around with furrowed brows._

"_...You're serious?"_

"_Of course I am, silly. Every date end with one. Come on, give us a kiss." Becca winked._

_Alex sighed and gave Becca a quick peck on the cheek, "There. Goodnight, Becca."_

"_What? That hardly counts at all, come on, Alex. A real one." Becca pouted._

_Alex blushed, looking at the ceiling before she looked at Becca who was still grinning. She leaned forward until she could feel Becca's warm breath on her lips, before finally capturing the other girl's lips with her own. She'd planned on pulling away right away, but something within her begged her, _made _her keep going as she pushed the shorter girl up against the door. Hearing a slight moan, Alex pushed her body closer to the other girl's, as she licked the other girl's lips, asking for entrance. As soon as entrance was gained, the two fought over dominance until Alex reached up to grab the shorter girls hair._

_...only to find her hair was too short. _

_Immediately pulling away, Alex realized she was kissing Becca._

_...But really, who did she think she was kissing? Did she _want _to be kissing someone else? She was just too confused._

"Wow_, Alex," Becca said, catching her breath, "What was that?"_

"_I...I have to go." Alex said, turning around and running away, leaving a very confused Becca in her wake._

_End flashback_

Alex sighed as she thought about it. She had continued to think about it all night, which was her reasoning for staying up so late, and being so tired. She'd probably not get anymore sleep, but at least she had some quiet here in Starfire's room.

Sighing, Alex turned to her side.

...To come face to face with a giant pink worm-like-thing that began to slobber on her jacket.

"Ahhhh!" Alex screamed, jumping up from the bed as she immediately took off one of her shoes to throw at it.

"Okay, this time I swear I heard someone scream!" Beast Boy said as he rushed into the room, followed by Raven and Starfire.

"There's a giant worm on your bed!" Alex exclaimed, other shoe already in hand, ready for throwing.

"Please do not harm Silkie!" Starfire said, rushing to the aid of the big pink blob. "He is harmless!"

"Except for that one time he grew into a monster and destroyed half the city." Raven said in monotone.

"That was only once!" Starfire exclaimed.

"...That _thing_ is your pet?" Alex asked, lowering her shoe-weapon.

"He is rather adorable, do you not think so?" Starfire asked, holding him up to Alex.

"Uh..." Alex took a step back, "Sure."

"What's that on your jacket?" Beast Boy asked Alex.

"It slobbered on me..." Alex muttered.

Beast Boy stifled his laughter before he suddenly remembered something with a mischievous grin, "Well, you might want to clean yourself up because your _girlfriend's_ here."

"What? Didn't you tell her I was sleeping?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, she said she would wait." Beast Boy shrugged. "She said it was important."

Alex sighed, not really wanting to have to deal with Becca at the moment. Especially after last night. "Alright...tell her I'll be out soon..." She said, before looking down disdainfully at her jacket as Beast Boy walked out. "Either of you have, 'Slobber-be-gone?" she asked with a slight hint of a laugh.

"I'll go help you clean it up." Raven offered. Alex nodded and followed Raven to the bathroom, where Raven started running some water before looking expectantly at Alex.

When Alex wasn't getting the hint, she said, "Take off your jacket."

"...Can't we just use a towel on it?" Alex asked.

"If you want to be more difficult." Raven stated.

Alex just looked away for a second before looking back at Raven with a small smile. Raven rolled her eyes and got a towel and put a corner of it under the running water before she began to gently wipe the slobber off of Alex's jacket. Alex blushed as she realized the area that Raven was scrubbing was, in fact, her chest. Raven was concentrating so hard on the mess at hand that it took her a few moments to realize this too, before she started blushing as well. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

After all the slobber was finally gone, she cleared her throat, "Done."

"Thanks." Alex said, looking anywhere but at Raven. "Anyway, I should go see what Becca wanted."

"Yeah." Raven said, leaving the bathroom to go meditate in her room. She decided that she really needed to.

In her haste to get away from the awkward situation, Alex completely forgot that she didn't actually _want_ to see Becca, but by the time she remembered that it was already too late. Walking into the common room, Alex felt like kicking herself as she saw Becca sitting at the kitchen table.

"Alex, there you are!" Becca said, "I've been waiting for like, ages!"

"Hey, Becca." Alex said. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you," Becca answered before looking around conspicuously, causing the other Titans to look at her curiously, "You know..._alone."_

Alex feigned a sigh; this is what she was afraid of.

"Alright, let's go for a walk around the Tower then." Alex said, leading Becca out of the common room and down the maze known as the Titan's Tower.

As soon as she was sure they were safe and alone, Alex asked, albeit grudgingly "So...what's up?"

"You know what's up." Becca stated, "What was with that kiss last night?"

Alex sighed, "You told me to kiss you."

"Yeah...but you got all into it and stuff. You know I don't really like you like that, right, Alex?" Becca asked, trying her best to be sensitive.

"Yes, I know." Alex said, looking at just about anything but Becca.

"Then...what was that all about?" Becca asked.

Alex leaned from one hip to another as she analyzed that question, just as she had been all night. She really didn't like the answer she'd gotten to.

"I...I was thinking of someone else..." Alex blushed.

"Oh." Becca said, before a sly grin made its way to her face, "Who?"

"Does it really matter?" Alex asked, avoiding the question.

"Alex, you practically mouth-raped me. Yes it matters."

"Don't pretend you didn't like it."

"That has nothing to do with it."

"It kind of does."

"Tell me!"

"No!"

"Was it a girl?"

For a fraction of a second, Alex looked away as if she were embarrassed then back to Becca.

Becca, noticing this shouted, "Oh, my god, you have a crush on a girl! Who is it! You must tell me!"

"No! Keep your voice down!" Alex commanded, blushing.

"But _Alex_!" Becca pleaded, "I'm your best_ friend_! You can tell me anything. You know I won't judge."

"No."

"You're so unfair!" Becca exclaimed with a huff. Finally, she broke out the puppy eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, and even pouted her lip, "_Pwease_ tell me?"

"Oh, no. That isn't going to work." Alex said, turning away.

"Pwetty pwease with a cherry on top?"

"Becca, that's not going to..." Alex trailed off as she turned to look at her, which was a terrible idea as she stared deep into those begging puppy brown eyes. Alex's brows furrowed angrily as she tried to deny them and look away, but Becca just pouted her lip even more. Alex growled in frustration before shouting, "Raven! I was thinking about Raven! Her with her amazing smile and laugh and that _damn _cloak she wears all the time! Okay? God!"

Becca immediately gave up her routine and looked at Alex grinning from ear to ear, "There, was that so hard?"

Alex blushed a crimson red as she realized what she said aloud, "Becca, you _cannot_ tell _anyone_."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." Becca winked. Alex sighed in half relief. She was at least _somewhat _sure Becca wouldn't tell anyone. "But really, Raven?" Becca asked.

"I thought you weren't going to judge." Alex wasn't sure if it was possible for her to blush anymore.

"I'm not. It's just...she's all like, morbid, and you're all like..." She trailed off, "You know what? Never mind. You two are perfect for each other."

"Screw you too, Becca."

"Nah, you'd just be thinking about Raven the whole time." Becca said with a wink. Yeah. It was possible for Alex to blush more. "Anyway, I'm going to go and tell everyone what an awesome kisser you are." Becca finished nonchalantly, waving Alex goodbye and walking down the hall.

"_What_?"

"You didn't think I'd keep _that _to myself, did you? I just wouldn't be me if I did." She said, waving behind her.

Groaning, Alex put her head in her hands. This _so _wasn't turning out to be her week.

* * *

><p><em>If you haven't at least heard of this song you live under a rock.<em>

_Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry._

_I have to tell you, my favorite part is Alex saying, "Open up the tunnel, here comes the trai-" _

_I've kind of always wanted to say that to someone, just to see their reaction.  
><em>

_I'm weird, I know. :3  
><em>


	13. Red Dress

_As always, thanks to my beta reader Darth Azrael and my readers and my reviewers :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any songs I use._

__

* * *

><strong>Red Dress<strong>_  
><em>

Alex, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin sat on the couch as they mindlessly watched TV.

Looking around curiously, Cyborg asked, "Where's Star? Isn't her show about to start?"

"Dude, who cares. Who wants to watch a show about toe fungus." Beast Boy said, throwing his hand into the air.

"She's probably getting ready for the fundraiser tonight." Robin shrugged.

"Oh, yeah. That's tonight isn't it." Cyborg sighed, "I hate those things."

"Psh, says you." Beast Boy said, "Hot chicks, dancing, what's to hate?"

"...What fundraiser?" Alex asked, confused.

"The fundraiser that's tonight." Robin answered, "Didn't we tell you?"

"Okay, now that's just getting old." Alex glowered, "No, you didn't tell me. What is it?"

"Basically a bunch of rich people getting together to donate for a good cause to feel better about themselves. And we have to go." Cyborg answered.

"It's a black tie event." Robin added.

Alex looked between the three of them before finally saying, "Well, have fun."

Robin's brows furrowed, "You're going too."

Alex snorted, "No I'm not."

"Uh, yeah you are. It'd look bad if you didn't."

"We finally get to see Alex out of that jacket!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

Alex's eyes widened, "I'm not wearing a dress."

"Yes, you are." Robin ordered, sounding like his mentor when he was absolutely serious.

"I don't have time to go buy one." She tried to come up with an excuse.

"You'll just have to borrow one from Star or Raven"

Alex just glared at Robin for a moment before asking, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"It was so obvious to me, I must have forgotten."

"Okay, that is like, one of the crappiest excuses I have ever heard." Alex said, getting up from the couch and stalking out of the room.

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin all looked at each other and shared a shrug before Beast Boy muttered, "Girls." And they turned back to the TV.

XXX

Alex walked back and forth in front of Raven's door as she chewed on her nails nervously. Robin made it clear that she had to go to the fundraiser that night, but she _really_ didn't want to. So she wondered if Raven could help her out with her situation. Even for a few moments, she thought about just leaving the Tower behind all together, but she really _liked_ it there and didn't want to leave it behind. Especially having everything with her brother unsolved.

Taking a deep breath, Alex made up her mind and quickly knocked on the door. Moments later, Raven answered it, looking at Alex expectantly.

"The fundraiser is tonight." Alex blurted out, with a tinge of a blush.

"I know..." Raven answered.

"I don't want to go." Alex said, wringing her hands together nervously in front of her.

"I can't help you with that. If Robin wants you to go, that's your problem." Raven said, and closed the door.

"Wait!" Alex said, phasing through the door into Raven's room.

"Get _out _of my room." Raven warned, venom dripping from her voice.

"No, you don't understand, Raven. I _can't _go." Alex said, pleading.

"I'm not getting you out of the fundraiser."

"No! You don't understand!" Alex shouted.

"What? What are you doing?" Raven asked, and the next thing she knew, Alex was taking off her jacket.

The first thing she noticed was a trail of pink scars running down the length of Alex's right arm, "I _can't _go," Alex repeated sullenly as she looked down at her feet, "I'm disgusting."

"No, you're not." Raven assured her as she sat down on her bed and invited Alex to do the same, "What happened?"

Alex sat down and sniffled, feeling completely exposed, "Remember how I told you I fell four stories? Well, I didn't exactly _fall,_ and it was through a window..." She trailed off.

"It was John, wasn't it." Raven said, feeling her anger rising. Who could do such a thing to their own sister?

Alex nodded mutely before continuing, "I followed him and his friend to this haunted apartment in our building, 'cause I thought it would be cool just to hang out with my older brother, you know? When we got there, John and his friend split up to look for 'ghosts' or something, and I followed John around. Anyway, when we got to this bedroom, John just had this sort of look in his eyes that kind of freaked me out...he was kind of smiling too. Suddenly, he's pushing me out the window, and I'm covering my head and screaming for dear life...

"Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital surrounded by my parents who are hugging me and thanking god I'm alive. The doctors said it was a miracle my neck didn't break when I landed. My arm was shattered, because I landed on that, and they had to get the little pieces of glass out of it, and they told me the scars would probably never go away. I have a few on my stomach and leg, too.

"John told everyone I tripped and fell, and that because the apartment was so old the glass broke easily. Everyone believed him...I've never told anyone before what really happened until now..." By the end of Alex's story, warm tears had started rolling down her cheeks.

"Why didn't you tell anyone the truth?" Raven asked.

"He gave me this look, like if I told anyone he would kill me...and at the time, I believed it." Alex sniffled

Raven nodded in understanding.

"But _now _do you see why I can't go to the fundraiser tonight?" Alex asked, calming her tears.

"Alex...I really can't get you out of that." Raven said, albeit guiltily.

"_What_? But Why?" Alex demanded. "I'm disgusting!" She said, pointing to her scarred arm.

"No, you're not." Raven said, putting her hand over Alex's scarred arm, causing Alex to look away ashamed.

"Everyone stares. I can't stand it."

"Actually...I think I might be able to help with that." Raven offered, and Alex quickly looked back up with a questioning gaze.

"What? How?"

"Well, I've never healed scars before, so I don't know, but I can give try."

"Really? You'd do that?" Alex asked with a glint hope shining in her eyes for the first time since she walked into Raven's room.

"I said I can try. Scars are different than open wounds." Raven stated.

"That's good enough for me." Alex said as she shook her head, reaching her scarred arm out in front of Raven.

Raven looked the scars stretched across Alex's arm, wishing beyond everything that it would work. She wished she could take away Alex's pain. She wished she could _inflict_ pain upon John for doing this to her. Above all, she wished that Alex could see how truly beautiful she was.

Raven began to concentrate on a few of the smaller scars, mumbling, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." At first the scars just remained in a black aura, with nothing happening, until finally moments later they began to shrink in size until they eventually vanished altogether. Alex's eyes widened as she squealed in delight while Raven continued the same procedure up her arm, until all the remaining scars were gone.

Alex immediately bombarded Raven with a hug, "Thank you _so _much. You have no idea what this means to me."

And for once, Raven found herself hugging back. "You're welcome."

"You must think I'm some sort of cry baby." Alex managed a chuckle while she rubbed her newly un-scarred arm, "I always seem to cry around you."

"It's okay. I don't mind." Raven assured.

"Well...if I _really_ do have to go to this thing tonight...and I _really _do have to wear a dress...do you know where I can get one?" Alex asked, albeit grudgingly.

"Star has more than a few you can choose from." Raven answered, "But hers show more skin. Tamaranians don't have the same concept of modesty that humans do."

"Oh..." Alex said, looking away with a tinge of a blush, "If that's the case, can I ask you to heal these on my shoulder, too?..."

Raven nodded and got up while Alex moved her shirt aside so Raven could reach them as she repeated the same procedure as before. Raven blushed like crazy when she realized from the position she was in, she could look down Alex's shirt.

"All—" Raven had to clear her throat as her voice cracked, "All done." She said, quickly sitting down.

"Thanks." Alex said, standing up. "You really have no idea what this means to me." She said, as fresh tears started forming, but this time they were of joy. "I finally don't _have_ to wear this jacket. I can just because I _want _to." She said, putting it back on.

"You know, Beast Boy thought you had a fake arm for a while. And that's why you wore that all the time."

Alex snorted, "Pff. Sounds like him." She said, as she reached the door before she realized she was actually _inside Raven's room. _Looking around she noticed it was rather clean, but with a few books strewn across the floor and everything was pretty dark, but not in a bad way. Over all, it seemed pretty much like _Raven. _"I like your room. It's really...you." Alex said before she walked out in search of Starfire.

Raven was too busy focusing on the fact that she had literally _checked Alex out_ and _looked down her shirt _to hear her. Deciding that she needed some massive meditation time, she let her soul self engulf her and disappeared onto the roof.

XXX

That evening Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Robin all waited in the common room for Starfire and Alex.

"If they don't hurry we'll be late..." Robin said, pacing back and forth in worry dressed in his tuxedo.

"Calm down, Alex has probably never worn a dress in her _life_. Starfire must have her hands full." Beast Boy said, dressed similarly to Robin.

"I heard that." Alex said, voice full of disdain. Everyone looked up to see Alex and Starfire standing in the doorway. Starfire was wearing a pink sleek spaghetti strapped dress that stopped just above her knees, with her hair up in a ponytail with a few strands hanging down around her face.

However, everyone (save Robin) was looking at Alex who was wearing a red strapless dress that stopped just above her knees as well, with her hair down and slightly curled. Alex noticed everyone staring at her and blushed, looking away as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, trying to form some sort of barrier. She really missed her jacket.

"Can everyone...stop...looking at me?" She mumbled.

"You look great." Raven was the first to say, surprised that she actually said it out loud. Alex looked over and saw Raven wearing a navy blue dress with regular straps and a slightly ruffled chest, flowing to her ankles.

"Thanks. So do you." Alex smiled. Raven looked away to hide her oncoming blush.

"Yes, yes. We all look _smashing_. Especially me." Beast Boy added, striking a pose as he smiled charmingly.

"Yes, Beast Boy, you look handsome as ever." Alex stated in monotone with an emotionless face.

"You could at least _try _to sound like you mean it." Beast Boy pouted.

"Hate to break it to you guys, but if we don't leave _right now_, we're going to be late." Robin interjected.

"I seriously don't want to go." Alex said as she tugged on the bottom of her dress, trying to make it go farther down. As she did this, she realized it just revealed more of her chest, so she pulled it back up with a huff.

"Too bad." Cyborg, Raven, and Robin said in unison, leaving Alex to pout the entire way there.

As they entered the elegant ball room, Alex couldn't help but be struck with awe. The entire room looked like it was ripped out of a Cinderella fairy tale. Hanging from the ceiling were a few very _expensive _looking chandeliers, while the walls were draped with beautiful golden curtains. The middle space was open for dancing, while there were tables set to the side for spectators and when dinner was served.

Alex suddenly became very nervous and crossed her arms over her chest while she bit her lip as she looked at the other guests as they danced and sat down. Everyone looked so elegant and beautiful. She looked down at what she was wearing and sighed. She felt ridiculous.

"Stop fidgeting." Raven said as the rest of the Titans began to mingle.

"Easy for you to say. You actually _do _look great. I probably stick out like a sore thumb." Alex sighed.

"You look fine." Raven said as she found the table labeled 'Titans' and sat down, Alex close behind.

"I _feel _ridiculous." Alex said, as she sat down, "Like I'm...naked or something..."

"You're the one who wanted to be free from your jacket." Raven reminded.

"Yeah, this is kind of a step farther than I was thinking." Alex said before a silence took over them. Alex studied Raven for a moment before blurting out, "I really don't know how to thank you for that."

"What?"

"What you did earlier..." Alex mumbled staring at her newly unscarred arm, "I had them for so long...and now that they're suddenly gone...I just don't really know what to think about it, you know?"

"I just...want you to be happy." Raven murmured.

Alex smiled, "That's sweet." Making Raven roll her eyes.

Cyborg suddenly walked up and bowed in front of Alex, "My fair lady, may I have this dance?" He asked, with a huge grin on his face.

Alex couldn't help a giggle escape, "I don't know, I kind of fail at dancing."

"That's alright; I'll lead the whole way."

Alex glanced at Raven as if to get permission, and as Raven nodded Alex said grinned and said, "Fine, but you're not allowed to laugh at me."

Grinning, Cyborg agreed, "Deal." He said as he grabbed Alex's hand, taking her out of her seat and leading her to the dance floor.

"You know, I'm honestly kind of surprised you haven't fallen in those heals yet." Cyborg added.

"No making fun of me." Alex narrowed her eyes as she reminded.

"You said no _laughing._" Cyborg corrected, "I clearly did not just laugh."

Alex rolled her eyes as she put her arms around his neck and they began to dance slowly to the music.

"See, you're not so bad."

"Meh..." Alex responded as she glanced over at Raven who was just people watching, all by herself. Feeling kind of bad for her, Alex asked, "How come no one asks Raven to dance?"

Cyborg chuckled, "They _have_. She always turns them down. Even BB will ask her sometimes, but she'll glare at him until he goes away."

"I wonder why." Alex said in thought.

"Seriously? She can't stand him..."

"No, not that. I mean, I bet she could dance. I bet she could do anything she put her mind to, actually."

Cyborg smirked, and leaned in a little closer to Alex, slightly invading her personal space, "Alex...I know."

Confused, Alex quirked her head to the side, "Know...what?"

"That you..." Cyborg tilted his head back and forth, as if trying to come up with the right word, "_like_ Raven."

Alex stopped the dance dead in her tracks.

"_What_?" Before she balled her fists behind Cyborg's neck, "Becca told you didn't she. I swear to god when I see that girl—"

Cyborg interrupted her with his laughter, "No, she didn't. But _you _just did.

Alex's eyes widened in shock before she blushed wildly and retracted her hands, covering her 'o' shaped mouth. "Oh, my god."

"Alex, chill." Cyborg said, motioning for Alex to calm down. "It's okay. I don't mind if you like her. Actually, I think you two would make a great couple."

Alex, still blushing, seemed to calm down a bit at this and lowered her hands before glancing over at Raven, who was still people watching. "She would never like me."

Cyborg sighed, "Come on, let's dance." He said as he grabbed Alex's hands and put them back around him, "I think she already does."

"I don't like this conversation." Alex said, glancing down. How could she ever believe that Raven would like her?

"Oh, come on, Alex. You seriously don't believe that? I bet if you asked her to dance, she'd say yes."

"Why?"

Cyborg snorted, "Seriously? You got her to play a video game, _and_ football, _and _try chocolate. What's to stop her from saying yes to dancing? That's pretty much why I think she likes you, really."

"...Do you think she knows that I...like her?" Alex asked, blushing.

Cyborg shook his head, "Nah."

"But she's an empath, how could she _not_ know?"

"As smart as she is, Raven's pretty oblivious when it comes to this stuff, I think."

Alex sighed, "Does anyone _else _know?"

"I don't think so. Beast Boy likes to joke, but I think that's all it is to him. It's hard to tell with Robin. But considering who trained him, he probably knows. But he knows that you guys will work it out on your own for better or worse, so he won't get involved unless it compromises the safety of the team."

Alex feigned a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to know about this and for some giant rumors to be started. Glancing once again over at Raven, she caught her glance and smiled, earning a nod from Raven back.

"You should go and ask her to dance." Cyborg suddenly said.

"Um...no."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel like humiliating myself?" Alex's answer sounded more like a question.

"Aw, come on, I bet she'd eventually say yes."

"I'd rather not."

"You know you want to..."

"Is this really how Raven feels when I bug her?" Alex pondered mostly to herself.

"No, I bet she loves it." Cyborg grinned.

Alex sighed, caving. "Fine. But when she says no and I'm humiliated, you owe me a lot of ice cream and chocolate so I can sulk."

Cyborg lifted his hands up in surrender, "Consider me the go-to guy for sulking." As Alex walked away before he called, "Wait...you might want to..."

"What?" She asked, clearly confused.

"Uh...just..." He said, pulling up on her dress so her chest looked bigger, "It helps, to uh, you know...cleavage..."

Alex's face fell, "You're such a guy."

Cyborg couldn't contain his laughter, "Why thank you."

Alex walked back over to the table with as much confidence as she could carry, which wasn't very much at the time. Sitting down, she drummed her fingers on the table and looked at Raven.

"Have a good time?" She asked.

"Yeah, it was fun." Alex answered with a weak laugh, "Managed not to fall."

Raven nodded in response as Alex continued drumming her fingers nervously on the table, while she looked over at Cyborg. Cyborg bowed his head and sighed before he motioned for her to go ahead and ask her, "Do it!" He mouthed.

Alex shook her head softly, while Raven had her head turned. Cyborg nodded with his brows furrowed. "No." Alex mouthed.

Cyborg facepalmed and walked up to the table, much to Alex's aggravation. Raven looked up at him curiously as he stopped in front of Alex.

"Hey Raven," He said before turning to Alex, "I'm just here to remind Alex of an _agreement_ we had that had to do with _ice cream_ and _chocolate_ and if she doesn't stand by it I'll make sure she doesn't get any at all for a whole _month_."

Alex narrowed her eyes as Cyborg grinned and walked away.

"Okay...what was _that_ about?" Raven asked.

"Nothing." Alex affirmed.

"Whatever." Raven shrugged.

Another silence settled over them as Alex continued to drum her fingers on the table, as she looked over at Cyborg who just narrowed his eyes, giving her the go-ahead.

"So...Raven..."

"Yes?"

"Do you...want to, uh..."

"Dinner time, guys!" Beast Boy came running up and quickly took a seat next to Raven, "My favorite part!"

"Oh thank god." Alex muttered. At Raven's quizzical look, she continued, "Uhh, I'm just hungry is all..."

As Cyborg took his seat next to Alex, he mumbled into her ear, "Next time..." Making Alex narrow her eyes.

Robin and Starfire quickly took their seats as the dinner given out. For the most part, the dinner was rather uneventful as they all held their idle conversations.

"_Dude_," Beast Boy drawled, "This is so awesome." He said as he ate his vegan dish.

"You could at least _try _to eat with your mouth closed." Raven berated.

"Okay, _mom._" Beast Boy said as he rolled his eyes.

Alex giggled, "Well, she does have a point. We should at least try and act civilized while we're here."

"See, now you're both just acting like moms...hmm. _Lesbo_ moms. Hot." Beast Boy said, wiggling his brows. Alex and Raven immediately rolled their eyes. "Well, we already know Alex is at least half way there..."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?", she asked Beast Boy.

"Well...you already kissed Becca, so you obviously aren't against kissing girls, right?" Beast Boy asked rhetorically, Alex simply rolling her eyes, "Becca even said you grabbed her_...you know._" Beast Boy smirked and raised his brows suggestively as he motioned towards his chest.

"_What!" _Alex said, her voice an octave higher, immediately blushing as all eyes at the table turned to her, "I did not! Becca just—Becca just says stuff like that—this _so _isn't the place to be talking about this." Alex finished, slumping down in her seat as the Titans began to laugh at her expense.

"It's okay, Alex, I think that's hot." Beast Boy said with a grin on his face. That didn't help her at all.

Raven turned to Alex, "Don't worry about it." Alex gave a small smile in return, and found that it actually helped a little.

XXX

"Oh, jacket, how I missed you so." Alex said as she rubbed her jacket while sitting on the couch at the Titan's Tower.

"That isn't creepy." Beast Boy commented from beside her.

"Your face."

"Is beautiful, I know."

Alex rolled her eyes but couldn't keep the grin from escaping.

"I'm going to go find Raven, have fun with your _beautiful _self."

"Ooo, do you two have hot secret meetings that no one knows about?"

"Yes, that's why I just told you I was going to find her."

"...Oh."

Alex went off to Raven's room, but after no answer figured she was on the roof. As she walked onto the roof she saw Raven standing near the edge looking over the city as the moon cast its light over. Alex walked next to Raven.

"You're right, it's beautiful." Raven said.

Alex turned to Raven and smiled as she watched Raven's face glow in the moonlight, "Yeah."

They stood in silence for a few minutes just watching the city.

"You don't have to thank me again" Raven said.

"You and your empath-ness..."

"I did it because I wanted to help you, and make you happier."

Alex gave a small smile, "I just wish I could do something in return...it means so much to me."

"Stop wearing your jacket all the time." Raven blurted out, uncharacteristically.

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

Raven suddenly blushed, looking away, "You don't _have_ to wear you jacket anymore...just start wearing shirts"

Alex smiled, "You know what? Okay. Starting when? Now?" Alex said, taking off her jacket to reveal a gray t-shirt, "This probably means I should go shopping soon though, I don't have many shirts." She chuckled nervously.

Raven shrugged as she looked Alex up and down, trying to hold back another blush, "Sounds like another trip to the mall."

* * *

><p><em>Song: Red Dress - Lovehatehero.<em>

_So, I've started noticing I don't like chapters that aren't completely about fluff, which presents a problem because I **need** to write other chapters in order for there to be a plot. lol. oh well._

_Tell me what you think?_

_:3  
><em>


	14. Animal

_Do I even have to say it? Thanks to Darth Azrael and my readers/reviewers ^-^_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or the songs I use._

__

* * *

><strong>Animal<strong>_  
><em>

"Yes! I can't wait for tonight!" Beast Boy said. "We're gonna _partay." _He continued and did a little jig, wiggling his hips back and forth in the middle of the common room as Alex did a face-palm, embarrassed to belong to the same species as him.

"Please stop acting like a five year old." She chided.

"What? Don't pretend you're not excited for the party tonight!"

"Parties aren't really my thing. Much less _themed _ones." Alex answered.

"Aw, come on. It's Halloween! Everyone's excited! Plus a birthday party! That's like...double the partying!"

Alex's brows furrowed, "Whose birthday is it?"

Beast Boy grinned and answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Duh, it's Raven's."

"It's Raven's _birthday _today?" Alex nearly shouted, turning pale.

"Yeah, didn't anybody tell you?"

"No! There's some serious lack of communication between us." Alex shouted, near hysterics, "How am I supposed to get her a present in time?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and snorted, "Calm yourself, woman; she never accepts presents from anybody anyway. She gets mad whenever someone brings up that it's her birthday."

Alex narrowed her eyes, deep in thought. As if that would stop her.

XXX

Later that day Alex was ruffling through her backpack trying to find something she could give to Raven. The trouble being...Alex didn't have much to her name. At all.

She also had trouble thinking of something that she could give to Raven anyway. All she could think of about Raven was that she was intelligent, beautiful, and sweet, she had an enchanting smile, wonderfully contagious laughter—

Wait, wait. Wait. Getting off track.

Raven likes to read.

_Ha!_ Alex dug into her backpack and took out the few books she owned.

The problem with that was, Alex was sure Raven had probably read the books she'd owned.

"Hmm." Alex said to herself as she pulled out one last book from her bag. It was brand new, she'd barely even opened it once, and it had yet to even come out in stores.

Becca's dad owned a book store in Arizona, and Alex had managed to convince him to send her a copy of it, so long as she kept an eye on Becca. Which she was happily going to do anyway.

Alex looked down at the book, and barely gave it a second thought before she decided she was going to give it to Raven for her birthday.

Now she needed a bow and some paper to write on. She was sure the Titans had both...somewhere.

Alex began looking through the drawers in the common room in the mission to find a bow when suddenly Cyborg walked in, unbeknownst Alex.

"What are you doing?"

"Wah!" Alex said, smashing her hand against the drawer her hand was in, and looking up at an amused Cyborg. "What? Nothing. What are you doing?"

"Wondering what you're doing." He asked as he walked over to her, with utensils strewn across the counter.

Alex sighed. "I'm looking for a bow."

"Like...a bow-tie?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"No," She answered, in defeat, "Like a bow...you put on a present..."

"Oh." he said before a grin found its way to his face and he sing-songed, "You got Raven a present."

"Shut up."

"Because you love her." He continued to sing-song.

"Be. Quiet."

"Or maybe you just want in her pants." He said, grinning, giving a mock thinking look.

Alex simply blushed.

"But...it better be more than that." Cyborg said, suddenly looking serious as he leaned in closer to Alex, "If you hurt her, I _will_ find you.", he held up his right hand, and it converted into his sonic cannon. "Do you know what this can do to a human being when I use it on full power?" he asked. Alex shook her head, to afraid to ask. "The sonic vibrations will turn your bones into a fine powder. Leaving you as a boneless, squishy mess."

"Never." Alex said, furrowing her brows at the thought.

"Good." Cyborg grinned, backing away, his arm shifting back to normal.

Alex needed a change of subject, "Where do you guys keep the freaking bows?"

"What color do you want?"

"Blue."

Cyborg walked away and a minute later produced a blue bow.

"You're my hero."

"I hear that all the time."

Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled. After a moment of silence, Alex nervously asked, "Do you think she'll take my present?"

"I think it could be a cat and she'd take it if it were from you. And she _hates _cats. Just ask Beast Boy." Cyborg answered.

Alex found herself rolling her eyes again at the thought.

XXX

"Raven!" Alex nearly shouted as Raven walked into the common room.

"Alex." Raven nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me it's your birthday today?" Alex pouted.

"It really isn't that important." Raven answered as she sat down, immediately followed by Alex.

"But you turned 18 today! The big one-eight! You're legally an adult now! You can...vote! Buy cigarettes!...Though I don't really recommend that...and, you know...other adult stuff. I don't know. What's it feel like to be an adult?"

"I've helped save the world many times over, and am just _now_ getting the right to vote? Where's the justice in that?"

"...Good point. Although, you do realize, you're getting a birthday hug today from me, right?" Alex asked with a grin.

"No, I'm not." Raven narrowed her eyes in challenge.

"Oh, Raven. You can try your best to avoid it, but I will get you."

"Pretty sure you won't."

"Okay." Alex sing-songed. "So anyway, what costume are you wearing tonight?"

"I'm not."

Alex sighed. "Yes, you are. I don't care if I have to dress you myself."

Raven raised an amused brow at Alex's words, "What are _you_ going as?"

Alex sank in her seat, "I lost a bet with Beast Boy, so I have to go as some mad hatter thing with a twist...knowing him it's totally—"

"You lost a bet with _Beast Boy_? How do you _do_ that?"

Alex sighed, "We bet on a football game. The Lions lost."

"That's...actually incredible. I've never heard of anybody losing to Beast Boy before."

"Ha-ha." Alex mock-laughed. "But we have to think of a costume for—"

"Alex!" Beast Boy shouted, storming into the common room with a shopping bag in his hand. "I totally have a costume for you!"

"But we already got one..."

"Yeah but this one is like a _thousand_ times better." He said holding out the bag for Alex to see.

"What _is_ it?" She asked, peering inside curiously.

"A French maid costume!" Beast Boy shouted excitedly.

Alex's face fell. "Beast Boy...just, no."

Raven, on the other hand, looked intrigued.

"But you _have to_!" Beast Boy pouted like a child, stomping his foot. "You lost the bet!"

"I already have a costume." Alex reminded.

"I don't. I can take the one you already have." Raven offered from the sidelines.

Beast Boy and Alex both turned to Raven, shock evident on their faces.

"Oh...my...god...that would be so..._epic_!" Beast Boy said, nearly jumping up and down from excitement.

"But I thought you weren't going to wear a costume." Alex said, obviously not in with the idea.

"I thought you were going to make me wear one, even if you had to dress me _yourself_." Raven countered, raising a challenging brow.

Alex narrowed her eyes before giving up and pouting, "You're kind of mean."

Raven smirked.

After a moment, Alex smirked to match Raven's, "Fine. You want to wear that costume? Okay. I'll give it to you before we leave for the party. But just remember, you asked for it." Alex finished as she sing-songed the last part.

XXX

"I've changed my mind." Raven said, looking over the costume in general distaste as she and Alex stood in her room, overlooking the costume as it was strewn across her bed.

"Too late! You have to wear it." Alex said, grinning. Raven just looked in between Alex and the costume and finally shook her head. "Why _not_? It's better than mine at least. If you don't wear it I'm not wearing mine." She finished, rolling her eyes and waving a dismissive hand.

"No!" Raven suddenly imagined Alex in a French maid's costume, and looked away embarrassed. "I mean...fine. I'll wear it if you wear yours."

Alex grinned, "Okay. Can I use your bathroom to change?" Raven nodded in response. "Cool." She said, carrying her costume into the bathroom with her.

Alex closed the bathroom door and Raven sighed as she looked back down at her strange mad hatter costume with a twist. She was going to hate this.

Suddenly she heard a few sighs come from the bathroom and a loud bump on the door. Confused, Raven asked, "Are you okay?"

"Um...yeah...this is just...kind of small..." Alex answered meekly.

As Raven thought about it while blood began rushing to her face, it was totally worth it.

After the whole 'looking down Alex's shirt' incident and Raven had time to meditate and think on it, she came to the realization that she there _might _be a _possibility _that she was physically attracted to her.

However, she knew that she was glad that Alex wasn't wearing that jacket anymore.

And she was _really_ looking forward to seeing her in that costume.

Even if it meant wearing something ridiculous.

"Raven...I'm kind of starting to change my mind..." Alex called through the door.

Raven sighed, "It's too late, I'm already in costume."

"But I look so..._blech._"

"I highly doubt that."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just come out."

Alex slowly opened the door, looking down not wanting to see the reaction on Raven's face as she crossed her arms over her stomach. Raven looked over Alex's features and briefly wondered if she would get a nose bleed.

Alex wore a stretch velvet dress with lace trimmed straps, faux lace up with bow accents, pleated organza trim with ribbon detail on the cups and hem, with velvet shrug with sleeves and matching pleated organza trim. On her head she wore a headpiece, while around her neck there was a choker. To complete the look she held a feather duster.

"See? I look stupid." Alex said as she looked up. However, doing so she was able to take in Raven's costume.

Raven was wearing long black and white checkered stockings, a mini dress with attached petticoat, with a ruffle of cloth attached at the neckline and extending down the front of her blouse, arm cuffs, and a cute hat with attached bunny ears.

"No, you don't." Raven managed as Alex looked her in the eyes. She was pretty sure Alex just _checked her out._

Alex cleared her throat, "You look cute." Raven's face fell, "That's a good thing." Alex giggled.

"We better start heading out." Raven said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, Beast Boy's probably all impatient about going to the party." Alex rolled her eyes. "What a kid."

"I would think you would be just as excited. Chocolate is involved."

Alex smiled, "Yeah but I _never_ liked wearing costumes. I was more of an Easter fan. It's a free excuse for sugar coated marshmallows and egg shaped chocolate. What's not to love?"

"Sugar coated marshmallows? Do you have any idea how bad that is for you? That's like...sugar coated sugar."

"Yeah...but do you have any idea how _good_ it is?" Alex asked. "New mission: get you to try them."

"Not going to happen."

"You wait, it will." Alex said, grinning wickedly as walked out of Raven's room.

Raven somehow believed Alex as she _watched_ Alex walk out of her room.

XXX

"This was a bad idea." Alex realized as the group walked into the Titan's East common room.

"What gives you that idea." Sarcasm dripped from Raven's voice.

Alex just glanced in Raven's direction as the rest of the party all seemed to literally stop and stare as their group walked into the room.

Robin wore a _Clash of the Titans_ costume, of course still wearing his mask, wearing the same armor that Perseus wore, while Starfire wore a white long dress a with high slit front, with corset and matching gauntlets as if she were a Greek goddess.

Cyborg wore a purple colored, velvety coat draped with purple-striped, with matching loose fitting pants, along with a black hat and cane. Basically, he was a pimp.

Beast Boy went old school and wore a Scream costume covered in fake blood while he carried around a plastic knife.

However, almost everyone's eyes were on Raven because she was _actually _wearing a costume. They then switched their view to Alex, who was standing right next to Raven simply because of what she was wearing, and the fact that she was 'new in town'.

Alex sighed, slumping her shoulders as the rest of the group aside from Raven began to mingle, "Everyone is going to think I'm some sort of whore."

"No they won't, just tell them you lost a bet with Beast Boy."

"Great, then they'll just think I'm stupid."

"Which would you rather be known as?"

"...Is it bad that I can't make up my mind?" Alex asked meekly.

Raven sighed and shook her head, unbelieving, as she walked up to the punch bowl and got herself a drink, with Alex quick in tow.

"I hope you realize I'm going to follow you." Alex said.

"Why?" Raven said, and Alex realized it was about as much of a whine as Raven could produce.

"Because you're like the only one I know here..."

"1. That's not even true, 2. That's a terrible excuse anyway. You're social." Raven said, turning to face Alex, and grumbled as soon as she saw Speedy coming their way wearing a black suit and tie with a wicked grin plastered on his face.

"Well, _hello_ there ladies." He said, obviously giving them both the once-over, "How are we doing on this fine evening?"

"If you value your physical being, you will go away." Raven warned in a deadly voice, "_Now._"

"Aw, come now, Rae," Speedy said, leaning against the table, "why would you two wear cute little things like that if you didn't want us to at least _look_?" He asked, grinning before he looked at Alex with a mischievous glint in his eye, "Maybe...touch."

"_Whoa,_ now, buddy. Where do you get off saying—" Alex began.

"_Excuse_ my friend over here. He just hasn't had any in a while now, so he's rather...playful." Aqualad came up, rescuing Speedy from Alex's wrath.

"I'll have you know, I've—"

"Speedy, I think that girl over there was gushing over how you stopped Cinderblock from crushing that building last week."

Speedy looked intrigued, "Is that so? Well, it _was_ pretty sweet. I guess I'll go talk to her..." He said, walking off.

"Thanks." Alex said, as soon as Speedy vanished.

"No problem. But, uh, what's with the get-up?" Aqualad asked, honestly perplexed.

"Beast Boy." The girl's said in unison.

"Ah. Say no more."

"Well, _I _lost a bet to him. Raven is just...well...kind of doing this as a favor to me, I guess." Alex continued.

"_Ah._" Aqualad smirked, throwing a knowing glance at Raven. Raven caught the glance, and would have to ask him about it later.

"So anyway, what are you supposed to be?" Alex asked him. He wore normal clothes just with bed head and make-up to make his face look extremely pale.

"Oh," He chuckled, "I'm Edward, you know, from Twilight? Steven is Jacob. We thought it would be funny. And it gives Steven a good excuse to walk around without a shirt on, which he knows drives me wild."

Alex started laughing, "That totally is. You guys are awesome."

"Anyway, I'd better go find him. You two have fun." He winked and waved them off.

Alex sighed, "Well it's a good thing he showed up, isn't it? One of us would have killed Speedy otherwise." She chuckled.

"I'm still thinking about it." Raven replied honestly.

"Was he being a dumbass again?" Bumblebee cut in, overhearing from the side. "I swear, that boy..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She wore a steam-punk witch's gown with a matching hat.

"Alex! Get over here!" Beast Boy called from across the room, waving his hand exaggeratedly as he jumped up and down like a little kid.

Alex sighed, "Ugh. I have to go. Part of the bet...be right back..." She mumbled as she slowly stalked towards Beast Boy.

"Bet?" Bumblebee asked.

"Alex lost a bet against Beast Boy. Hence the costume." Raven explained.

"Oh_._" She nodded, suddenly in understanding, "How do you lose against him?"

"I honestly don't know."

Bumblebee shrugged and was about to walk off, thinking their conversation was over when something struck her, "But wait, why are you wearing _that_ then?"

"I thought it would be a nice change of pace." Raven skillfully lied.

"No, you didn't. Come on girl, the truth."

"It's...a favor for Alex. She didn't want to feel alone with her costume."

Bumblebee raised an amused brow just as Alex walked up and looked between the two of them as realization hit her, "_Oh."_

"What?" Alex asked, clearly confused just having walked up.

"What?" Bumblebee asked, feigning innocence as she looked back and forth between the two.

"Uh...what?" Raven asked, not knowing what was going on.

"Oookay..." Alex said.

"I'ma go mingle...you two ladies have fun now!" She winked, and something about her tone just seemed _suggestive_ to Alex, but it might have been her imagination.

"What did Beast Boy want?" Raven asked.

"For me to admit that I lost a bet to him in front of his friends." Alex sighed. "It sucked."

"Next time, don't lose."

"You don't lose." Alex countered with a pout.

"I don't make bets with Beast Boy, hence I'm not in your situation."

"Raven...you kind of are. Except, you look adorable. I look like a whore. I wish he didn't change costumes on me."

Raven rolled her eyes, taking off her hat with the attached bunny ears and quickly placing it on Alex's head before she could protest, "There. Now you look like an _adorable _whore. Happy?"

Alex giggled to hide her blush, "Yeah, except you just admitted that I look like a whore..."

Raven smirked, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'd buy a night."

Alex held her stomach as she barked out some laughter at Raven's almost-joke.

Raven laughed along softly because she knew it was a true statement.

"Oh, Raven. You are so awesome." Alex sighed as she got over her fits of laughter.

"Sometimes I try." Raven replied with a shrug.

Shortly after the music stopped playing and Cyborg walked to the center of the room, "Ladies, gentlemen, ghouls and ghosts, monsters and madmen...and whatever _you_ are," He said, pointing to some random person, "We all know this is a Halloween party, and an awesome one at that—" Small cheers were given "But we also throw this party every year in celebration of a good friend of mine's birthday. I know she hates celebrating her birthday, but we all love her, so let's all say it together: Happy 18th birthday Raven!"

"Happy 18th birthday Raven!" Everyone cheered and clapped, including Alex who was still standing right next to her. The whole room was looking at Raven who just waved her hand in thanks and nodded, really wanting the attention to stray away from her.

"Birthday hug surprise attack!" Alex exclaimed, suddenly throwing her arms around Raven. Raven was initially surprised, but felt comforted by the contact and wrapped her arms around Alex's waist. "Told you I'd hug you today." Alex mumbled.

Raven just nodded contently.

The moment was ruined as soon as she heard a couple 'aww's' ring around the room, and then she remembered where she was and immediately let go of Alex and stepped away, clearing her throat to banish her blush.

Alex looked up to see Cyborg shaking his head with a smirk on his face, causing her to blush.

Raven looked around the room and saw Robin, Bumblebee, and Aqualad all with amused, knowing looks. Raven would have to ask them about this later. Because exactly _what_ they knew, she herself had no idea.

"What, no birthday kiss?" Beast Boy asked suggestively from across from the room, ruining the silence.

"I got it." Bumblebee said, slapping him across the back of the head, earning an "Ow!" from him.

Shortly thereafter everyone continued with their party shenanigans.

"Oh, my god." Alex said, spying a bowl full of candy bars. "Be right back."

Raven nearly snorted and rolled her eyes as Alex made a beeline for the bowl.

"Could you be anymore obvious?" She heard Robin ask with a hint of amusement in his voice. She turned around to see him standing there with a smirk coupled with a knowing look strewn across his face with his arms crossed.

"What?" She asked, generally confused.

Robin's smirk slowly vanished as he realized that Raven was being serious, "You...really don't know." He said, looking at her and then glancing at Alex as she began walking back over with a handful of chocolate bars, "You know what? I'm going to let you figure it out for yourself. It'll be good for you." He said and then walked back to Starfire.

"What did he want?" Alex asked as she finished a candy bar.

"Chew, Alex. Chew. And I'm not sure."

"Leave me alone. This is delicious. Chocolate _and_ caramel. Want some?" She asked, motioning her handful of candy bars towards Raven.

"No thanks." Raven shook her head.

"...You are so weird."

"I thought I was awesome."

"That was _so_ five minutes ago." Alex said, waving a dismissive hand and rolling her eyes with a smirk on her face. Raven laughed softly in response, causing Alex to giggle too. "Besides, this one is white chocolate, you _like_ white chocolate. Remember?"

Raven's face fell at the memory. "Yes."

"So you _do _want it?"

With a sigh, Raven took the candy bar from Alex's hand and opened it, taking a bite while very aware of Alex's eyes on her. "It's..._alright._"

"Woot, score one for cookies 'n' crème!" Alex exclaimed half heartedly while pounding a fist into the air. Raven just rolled her eyes as she threw the wrapper on the table, "Hey, aren't you at least going to throw that away? Litter bug!" Alex accused.

"It doesn't matter. They never make me help clean up the after party because it's my birthday." Raven shrugged.

"Oh...that's sweet. Hey..." Alex began, nudging Raven's side, "maybe you can get me out of it too." She asked sweetly with a grin.

Raven pretended to think about it, and raised a brow, "Well...you _are _in a maid's outfit...and you already have the duster..."

Alex's face fell. "I'll dust your face." She said as she lightly swatted the feather duster over Raven's face. Alex laughed as Raven sneezed, "Well that's what you get."

About fifteen more minutes past as they watched the party continue, and Alex found herself, well...bored.

"_Raven..._" She whined.

"Yes, we can go now. It's been long enough."

"Thank god."

"Come on, let's go." Raven said as she began leading Alex out of the common room.

"And where are you ladies going?" Speedy asked from behind.

Raven sighed and turned around but Alex answered for her, "We're leaving."

"Aw, already? Can't I at least get a hug?"

Alex rolled her eyes, "Fine." She said, leaning in and giving him a hug. A moment later she felt a squeeze on her rear end, "Ah! Hands!" She exclaimed, immediately backing out of the hug and roughly pushing him away. Speedy just smirked wickedly before turning around and walking away.

Alex grumbled and turned to face Raven, "I'm really starting to not like him."

Raven was still staring at Speedy as he walked away, looking like she was about ready to kill him.

"Uh...Raven? You okay?"

Raven suddenly was pulled out of whatever state she was in and looked at Alex, "Yeah. Are you?"

Alex looked away, a blush forming, "Yeah...that's just...never happened before."

"Next time I see him he's dead." Raven mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go." Raven said, leading Alex the rest of the way out of the common room.

"We're not taking the T-car are we?" Alex asked.

"No."

"Then how are we...oh!" she said in sudden realization. "We're teleporting! That's so cool!" Raven rolled her eyes at Alex's childlike antics, before suddenly grabbing Alex's hand. She knew she didn't _need _to, but some force within her just wanted to. Alex assumed Raven needed to do so in order for the teleportation to work, "Can I say it?" She asked excitedly.

"What?" Raven asked confused before her face fell in realization. Really, why did everyone have to poke fun at her teleportation powers? "Oh." Sighing, she nodded her approval.

Alex nearly jumped up and down in excitement, "Beam us up, Scotty!" And Raven enveloped them both in a black aura as they both teleported back to her room.

Alex couldn't help the "Whoa." from escaping her lips as they reappeared in Raven's room. "That was awesome!"

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Really, I wish I could do that." Alex continued.

"The first time I ever teleported with Beast Boy and the others, he called it creepy." Raven informed her.

Alex waved a dismissive hand, "Beast Boy's a douche bag. It so isn't creepy."

"He is rather douchey, isn't he." Raven asked, making Alex chuckle, "What?"

"Nothing, I just never imagined you saying something like that."

Raven rolled her eyes again, "I don't know about you, but I'm tired of wearing this. Your clothes are still in the bathroom aren't they?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go change." Alex said as she pointed to the bathroom and made her way there.

As soon as they changed and Alex walked out of the bathroom, Alex sighed in contentment and patted her jeans, "Much better."

Raven nodded, back in her usual tights and cloak, "Tell me about it."

"But yeah, it's getting kind of late; I think I'll go to bed now. Nighty night, happy birthday again!" Alex called as she walked towards Raven's door.

Raven walked her out, "Thanks. Goodnight." She said before looking down something on the floor in front of the door, "What's this?" She asked.

"Oh..." Alex said nervously as Raven picked it up. "Well, I wanted to give this to you, but I figured I wouldn't be here when you saw it..." She chuckled nervously.

Raven looked over the book titled _Midnight Rose_ with a blue bow over it. As she flipped the book over to continue to look over it, a folded piece of paper slid out and landed on the floor. Leaning over to pick it up, she realized it was supposed to be a card. Opening it read:

_Happy birthday Raven!_

_I hope you enjoy this book. Just so you know, I didn't steal it. I have connections. :D_

_And by now I'm assuming I gave you your birthday hug. So, in your face! I told you I would!_

_Your friend,_

_Alex._

As Raven read over the card, she couldn't help the small smile that spread over her face. She looked up at Alex who was looking away nervously wringing her hands together. Suddenly Raven found herself leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Alex in an embrace, "Thanks. I really like it." she said.

Alex tensed at the sudden contact but soon relaxed, "Yeah?"

Raven nodded, "Yeah."

Alex smiled, blushing, "I'm glad." She said as she pulled away from the hug, even though she really didn't want to. "Anyway, I really should go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Raven said as she walked into her room.

Both girls were unaware that they wore matching goofy grins.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Animal - Neon Trees.<em>

_This chapter was fun to write, hahah. _

_Anyway, tell me what you think? :]  
><em>


	15. Issues

_Thanks as always to my wonderful beta reader and readers and reviewers! You guys really make my day! ^-^_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or songs I use._

__

* * *

><strong>Issues<strong>_  
><em>

Alex woke to a harsh shake of the shoulders, "Alex, get up." Furrowing her brows, she was about to note the time of morning before she opened her eyes and saw Robin standing before her with a serious look on his face.

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Alex asked, "What is it?"

"Trouble."

XXX

Alex soon found herself in a conversation that was way over her head. However, she was trying very hard to keep up.

Apparently, someone named Madame Rouge was dead. Someone had _killed _her, and then dumped her body in the woods. Which Alex assumed was a pretty big deal from the way the Titans were talking about it, because they made her out to be a pretty tough foe.

"Wait." Alex asked, interrupting the Titans mixed conversations, "Who would want her dead?" At the gathered looks of 'are you kidding me' from the Titans, Alex turned a dark shade of red. "Right. Never mind. Continue."

"It'll help once we get photos of the scene." Cyborg mentioned.

"What's _taking _them so long?" Robin asked impatiently.

Raven walked over to Alex as the rest of the Titan's conversation continued, "You must be confused."

"Only a little." Alex admitted.

Feigning a sigh, Raven explained, "Madame Rouge was as difficult as they come. To find that someone not only _found_ her, but killed her as well, is a little troubling to say the least."

"I guess I can understand that." Alex said with a shrug.

"_Finally. _The photos are here." Robin announced as everyone gathered around the giant computer screen.

"Alex, these pictures are going to be rather graphic. Are you going to be okay?" Raven warned.

"I should be fine." Alex said, "Thanks for worrying though."

Cyborg pulled up the pictures to reveal Madame Rouge lying on the ground, looking almost as if she were asleep. Though her face was so pale Alex could tell the difference. There was no blood anywhere to be seen, she were just lying there with her arms and legs straight facing straight down as if someone placed them that way.

Cyborg quickly went from picture to picture looking for any piece of evidence. They found needle marks on her arms, so it was obvious she had probably killed by some sort of drug. Cyborg had already asked for a sample of her blood, which was on its way. Quickly, he switched to the next picture.

"Wait. Go back."

They all turned, shocked to have heard Alex's voice. Even still, Cyborg did as he was told.

"What do you see?" Robin asked.

"The needle marks, they look familiar."

"...How can needle marks look familiar?" Beast Boy asked.

Alex sighed and pointed to the screen, "Look, she has one in her elbow, and two in her forearm. That's not normal."

Everyone squinted their eyes as stared at the screen, before coming to a realization.

"Wow, I didn't even see that before." Cyborg said. "Good eyes."

"Where have you seen that before?" Robin asked.

"My mom. On the day she died." Alex mumbled, barely loud enough for anyone to hear, "It doesn't make any sense."

"I thought you said your mom committed suicide." Raven said.

"She did. Which is why this doesn't make any sense."

"Can you think of anyone who would want your mother dead?" Robin asked, trying to be as sensitive as possible.

Alex snorted, "John, maybe." The words flew out of her mouth, and then she realized that maybe it wasn't such a joke after all. Her brows furrowed in thought. Suddenly, Raven felt a flurry of anger and pain rise up from Alex as she shouted, "That fucking _bastard!_" slamming her fist against the wall.

Everyone stood in shock over Alex's outburst.

"Alex, let's not jump to conclusions." Raven said, trying to calm her down.

"No. No, we all know he's capable of doing it." She said, shaking her head vigorously as tears started to well in her eyes, "I just can't believe I didn't see it. I can't believe this whole time I thought she—", she cut herself off, not able to finish her sentence. "I have to go." She said, running out of the room.

Raven went to go after her, but Robin stopped her, "Just let her go. She'll calm down."

And despite her better judgment, she listened to him.

XXX

Alex felt a little better when she decided to steal—_borrow_—Robin's motorcycle.

Feeling the wind rush through her hair was liberating as she drove faster and faster down the streets of Jump City. It was still pretty early in the morning; the sun hadn't even woken up yet, so there weren't many cars on the streets.

However, soon enough, the streets started filling up, and Alex decided to start taking the less crowded roads towards the outer city. All the driving around was freeing her head of her thoughts. She was starting to feel better.

Without even noticing it, she managed to make it to some storage facility. Slowing down slightly, she decided to calm down. She realized that the sun was now noticeably higher, but had no idea what time it actually was, and that she should probably head back to the Tower soon and apologize for her outburst.

That was, until she saw a noticeably familiar figure standing farther down the road.

Alex's eyes narrowed.

There was just no way he could possibly be here, could there? The timing would be too perfect.

The figure took a step closer, and his mask black and white mask gleamed in the sun. Alex immediately revved up the motorcycle, and started speeding towards him. He didn't move a muscle as she drew nearer and nearer. She didn't care, she _wanted_ to hit him. She wanted him in immense pain.

However, as soon as she got too close, something in her heart told her she just _couldn't_. She swerved out of control, crashing the motorcycle. She'd phased through, and ended up fine, but the motorcycle was a mess.

She heard John's terrible laughter from behind her and immediately whipped around.

"I knew you wouldn't do it." He said.

Alex ran up to him and threw a punch at his jaw, knocking his mask to the ground.

She'd obviously caught him off guard. "What, no witty banter today? Well, since you aren't exactly witty I guess it's just banter." He asked.

"You killed her!" Alex shouted, going in for another punch. This time he was ready, and they began their duel.

"I've killed more than one person. You'll have to be specific." He grinned wickedly.

Alex growled and threw a kick at his knees, which he also wasn't expecting. She was unpredictable when she was angry. The hit connected, and he fell to the ground. Alex immediately followed it with a kick to the stomach, and before he could get up she dragged him to the nearest wall where she picked him up and threw him against it roughly.

"_Mom_!" She hissed.

John began laughing, "What, _her_? It took you this long to figure _that _out?"

Alex's face morphed from anger to shock. He'd basically just confessed.

"Don't look so surprised. She had it coming, and you know it."

Alex threw another punch against his jaw as hard as she could, which only made John laugh even after it connected.

"I've never seen you so mad before. It's pretty funny."

"Why...why would you..." Alex couldn't form the words. She couldn't even look him in the eyes as she pinned him against the wall.

John's laughter died down as he stared at Alex, his smile gone. "_Oh._ You still haven't figured it all out." He said, shaking his head before he snorted, "God, Alex, it's truly an embarrassment to be related to you."

"Tell me." She demanded in a deathly low voice.

"What," John chuckled, "you think because you have me here that you have the _upper hand_?" He asked. Suddenly, a small burst of blue electricity emitted from all around him, causing Alex to immediately let go and back away in pain. "I have the upper hand, Alex. Always. Furthermore, Carrie was like _us. _She didn't deserve her power. Neither do you."

"What...so you _killed _her?" Alex demanded, "Where's your logic in that?"

John sighed and took a threatening step forward, to which Alex took a step back, "As I said, she didn't deserve her power. _I _did. However, she was so weak from all the heroine, the cocaine, the meth, the pills, the alcohol and who knows what else, the process didn't work. She died before I could finish."

All Alex could do was stare at her brother in disbelief before she finally found her words, "I can't believe you! She was our mom! Not some sort of _lab_ experiment! I can't believe you let me think that she….,she…"

"She what, killed herself?" John asked, smirking. He shrugged, "She basically did, you know. Her gift was foresight. She knew I was coming for her, and she didn't do a thing to stop me. She warned me it wouldn't work, and that she would die before I could finish." John said, stepping closer to Alex, who just stood still in shock. He kept walking closer until he was close enough to whisper with a wicked grin, "Looks like you weren't enough for her after all."

Alex shook with oncoming sobs.

"Alex," John began, trying to sound as comforting as possible, "I _am _sorry you had to find out like this. And she _was _our mother. I can make this easy for you. Just come with me, and I'll make it as painless as possible. Who's going to miss you, anyway?" he asked, holding his arms out, asking for an embrace.

Alex looked up at John, and literally saw what seemed to be _caring _in his eyes. She'd never seen that before. Alex sniffled and slowly leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder. It was awkward, but she'd never been hugged by her brother before. It was...oddly comforting.

What she didn't know, was that he was grinning wickedly while he had a syringe in his hand, pointed at her neck.

"—_Zinthos!_" Raven shouted, and the syringe was surrounded in a black aura of magic, quickly knocked out of John's hand. John immediately looked up, anger filled in his eyes as he pushed Alex away.

Confused, Alex looked up and saw Raven flying towards them, anger apparent on her face. As soon as she landed, she grabbed Alex by the hand and formed a barrier around them as they began to teleport away. John tried to break through it, pounding on it with his fists.

"Alex! Get back here! _You're making a mistake!_" He shouted angrily, and the caring Alex thought she saw in his eyes was long gone only to be replaced by hate and anger.

Raven and Alex were soon in Raven's room at the Titan's tower. Alex was too shocked move, let alone say anything.

Raven figured she'd go first. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"...What just happened?" Alex asked, still in a state of shock.

"He was about to inject you with something again. I stopped him." Raven explained.

"No—I mean...I was about to...he almost convinced me to...if you hadn't have come up..." Alex trailed of tears forming, "How did you find me?"

"We noticed you took Robin's bike out for a spin. He wasn't too happy about that, by the way. But it has a tracking device on it." Raven said, before asking, "What do you mean, he almost convinced you?"

For the first time since they'd teleported to her room, Alex looked Raven in the eyes, "He _killed_ her, Raven. She knew it was going it happen, and she didn't do anything to stop it. She knew I was going to be alone, but she let it happen anyway. I just thought for a second...maybe I was _supposed_ to be with him...I don't know..." Alex trailed off, shaking.

Raven grabbed Alex by the hand and sat her down on the bed, "Alex, don't think like that. How do you know she knew it was going to happen?"

"She could see the future. She had gifts like me and John; apparently that's why he killed her in the first place. He wanted to steal it from her." Alex explained disdainfully, "But it didn't work. She was too weak because of all the drugs." Raven squeezed Alex's hand, trying to comfort her. Alex suddenly mumbled, "That's why she gave me her necklace..."

"What?" Raven asked, confused.

"She gave me her necklace because she knew she was going to die." Alex said, trying to hold back her tears. "I should have known right then, honestly. She never took it off."

"Don't blame yourself. It obviously isn't your fault." Raven chided. Alex just shrugged, clearly disbelieving. They sat there for a few minutes in silence, albeit for Alex's sniffles. Raven decided that she needed to break the news to Alex, "Alex, there's more I need to tell you."

"What?" Alex practically sighed. What else could there be?

"In Madame Rouge's blood, there were Nanobots filled with microscopic amounts of pentothal." Raven explained slowly, waiting for the information to sink into Alex's brain.

Alex sat emotionless for a minute until she finally said, "Awesome. So what we're getting at here is that my brother is the killer. You know what? That's just great. I wonder what else is in the gene pool."

"Don't compare yourself to him, you're better than that."

Alex just snorted, disbelieving.

"We didn't know why he had done it, but now that you explained to me about your mother, it makes sense." Raven explained. "But I don't think it worked with Madame Rouge, either. He didn't seem to use any of her powers." Raven continued with a thoughtful look.

"Maybe it has to be in the family. You know, same blood and all." Alex added with an unenthusiastic shrug.

Raven quirked a brow, "That may be right. We should go tell the others." She said, getting up from her bed. Alex sighed, staying where she was. Turning around, Raven looked at Alex with caring in her eyes. Alex noted that this was the _real _kind of caring. "Alex, I know that this is hard, but you have to do this. I'll be there the whole time. If you want to stop, just tell me."

Alex eventually agreed, getting up from her seat and followed Raven to the diagnostics room where the rest of the Titans were.

The first one to greet her, or rather, yell at her, was Robin, "You _took the Redbird_?" He demanded.

Before Alex could retort, Raven intervened, "Now's not the time. We have news."

"You guys finally shacked up?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg immediately slapped him, which hurts a lot more when the person smacking you has metal hands.

"Now's not the time." He repeated.

"He does it to steal their powers." Alex informed, cutting to the chase. She just wanted to get it over with.

"How does he do it?" Robin asked.

"Who knows, something to do with the blood. Apparently he isn't very good at it, because he hasn't gotten it to work yet." Alex commented.

"How do we know that?" Beast Boy asked.

"He tried it on my mom, and also on Madame Rouge, neither of them worked."

"But those are the only two that we know about. He has _two _powers. Maybe he _has_ gotten it to work." Beast Boy pointed out.

"Alex and I were thinking that it could only work in the family, because it's in the genes. Alex, who else in your family could have any powers?" Raven asked.

Alex shrugged, "If we're thinking on that side of the family, I have an uncle. And a couple cousins. I have no idea where they are though, we were never close."

"What's your uncle's name?" Cyborg asked, ready at the computer.

"Dean Westermann."

Cyborg typed in the name, and after sifting through all the people that came up he finally found the right one.

"Dean Westermann: Deceased, March 20th, 2007." Cyborg recited from the computer.

"Does it say how he died?" Robin asked.

"There were needle marks on his arm. They assumed overdose."

The room went silent as all the eyes turned to Alex, whose face was emotionless. However, Raven could feel the anger, sadness, and all around _fear _that was pouring from her.

"What about his kids?" Alex asked, also emotionless.

"He had two daughters. One's deceased, but it was in a car accident. The other one, Sandra, is still alive, and she has a son." Cyborg informed.

"We should go warn her."

"I agree." Starfire said, speaking up for the first time, "We should also offer our services of protection."

"Alright," Robin nodded, "It's decided. Where does she live?"

"Ohio. I can get us there in a few hours."

"Wait! Idea forming." Beast Boy interjected, "Raven, you can teleport somewhere if you've _seen _it, right?"

"You've seen Jumper one too many times. But yes. But I haven't seen where she lives." Raven explained, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, do pictures count?"

"I guess." She shrugged.

"Aha!" Beast Boy said, quickly stealing the computer away from Cyborg. A few moments later, he pointed at the screen. "Teleport us there."

It showed a modern looking house, from an airplanes view, with a small front yard and a pool in the back yard.

"That's her house?" Alex asked.

"Yeah."

"And you found it on the internet?"

"Yeah." Beast Boy nodded.

"That's kind of creepy."

"Thank you, Google Earth."

"Are we done ogling over the wonders of the internet now?" Cyborg asked.

"Sorry." Alex said, "We can go now."

The entire group walked up closer to Raven, who instinctively grabbed Alex by the hand as they teleported to their destination.

Once they got there, Beast Boy let out a deep breath. "Never going to get used to that.", he mumbled.

Alex noticed the slightly hurt look on Raven's face, and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

The group went up the walkway to the door, and Alex nervously rang the door bell. A few moments later, a woman with mid-lengthened blonde hair opened the door in her mid twenties opened the door, staring confusedly at the teenagers before her, not quite sure what to do.

"Uh..." The blonde began, "Halloween was _last _week." She said, eyeing their clothes.

"Sandra," Alex began, glad that Raven was still holding her hand, or she might have run off by then. She was pretty sure she was shaking. "I'm Alex. You're cousin."

Sandra's brows furrowed in thought before they shot open in realization, "Oh. Carrie's kid."

"Yeah."

"My dad told me about your family." Sandra said, trying to hide her obvious distaste.

Alex swallowed the lump in her throat that was forming, but before she could reply, Raven did for her. "That's what we're here about. Your family."

"What about us?"

"We have a few questions about your father." Starfire spoke up.

"Like what?" The blonde asked, impatience growing.

"This is going to sound very strange." Alex said, speaking up again, "But did he have any...like, special powers?"

Sandra stepped out of her house, closing the door behind her and looked around to see if anyone was listening in on the conversation, "What are you talking about?"

"Could he like...do short bursts of EMP? Or manipulate electricity? It's really important you tell us the truth—" Alex was cut off by Sandra holding up a hand to tell her to stop.

"He...could do electricity.", she mumbled. At that, the teenagers all glanced at each other, "Why does it matter? What's going on?"

"I am afraid we have some...disturbing news about your father's death." Starfire said.

"What are you talking about? Where is this all coming from?" Sandra asked, looking from Alex to the Titans, "Who _are _you guys?"

"We're just trying to look out for you." Beast Boy said earnestly

"But _why_?" She asked.

"It'll be easier for you if you just accept that we're here for you." Robin said.

Sandra actually began laughing, albeit humorlessly. "Great. Six teenagers to the rescue against some unknown evil. I feel _so _safe."

"If you would please just let us explain why we are here, things will become clear." Starfire said.

"Okay, shoot." Sandra said, waving her arms exasperatedly.

"We know the truth about how Uncle Dean died." Alex said, looking down.

"The truth?" Sandra asked, brows furrowing before she exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew he wouldn't have OD'd! He wasn't like that. What was it, a heart attack?"

"No, Sandra...he was killed...for his power..." Alex explained, not able to look her cousin in the eyes.

Sandra blinked in confusion, leaning against the door as it seemed a weight was suddenly on her, "I don't understand. Who would do that?"

Alex literally sank back, not sure if she wanted to answer. At the reassuring squeeze Raven gave her hand, Alex silently answered, "John."

"John." Sandra repeated in confusion, before realization slowly hit her, along with anger, "You mean your _brother_, John?" Alex couldn't find the words to say, so she merely nodded, "How could you let that happen!" She demanded.

"I—I had no idea he was even still alive until a few months ago. Today I found out he killed my mom too, until about four hours ago I thought she overdosed too—"

Sandra snorted, interrupting Alex, "Well it's more believable that _she _would OD. Dad told me about Carrie, about her drug habits. He told me about your whole family. He told me to stay away from you. Apparently, we didn't stay far enough."

Alex felt like she'd just been slapped. She felt tears pricking in her eyes.

"I—I just wanted to—"

"Just wanted to what? Remind me of my father's death? Bring back those bad memories? Add some new ones? Dad was right about your family. You're probably worse than your mother."

Alex felt Raven let go of her hand, and she was about to take the opportunity to run away when she suddenly saw Raven in front of her, poking her finger in the blonde's chest.

"We came here to offer our protection to you. However, if I _ever_ hear you talking to Alex like that again, the offer is withdrawn. I don't care if John hunts you down himself." Raven harshly spat out.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at Raven's outburst.

"I..." Sandra started, anger leaving her eyes as she looked behind Raven, "Fine. Alex, I'm...sorry. This is just...a lot to take in. First you tell me my dad was _murdered_, then you tell me it was your brother. How am I supposed to take that?"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out." Alex said, taking a shaky breath while Raven once again was at her side.

"You know, he didn't even use it, his...gift. He said it was wrong, said metahumans were nothing but freaks. And to think he was killed over it..." Sandra trailed off, swallowing the lump in her throat that was forming.

"I'm sorry." Alex mumbled, still not able to look her cousin in the eyes.

Sandra snorted, "A lot of good that does." She muttered before continuing, "At least I don't have any special gifts...that means I'm safe, right?"

"We don't exactly know." Cyborg said.

"How can you not know?" Sandra demanded.

"So far, he's been pretty unpredictable to us." he explained, "Besides, what about your son?"

"Jake? What about him?"

"Does he have any gifts?" Robin asked.

"He—he's only four. I don't know. Katie, my sister, didn't know she had a gift until she was 11...would John really come after Jake?" Sandra asked, worried.

"We honestly do not know." Starfire said sullenly. Sandra's hands began to shake.

"What do we do now?" She asked, face pale.

"Here." Robin said, handing here a Titan walkie-talkie.

"What's this?" She asked, looking at it with suspicion.

"It's a Titan-talkie. Feel special; even I don't have one of those." Alex commented.

"So...like, you guys are really super heroes?"

"I _knew_ I wasn't the only one who hadn't heard of you..." Alex mumbled. As Robin answered, "Yes, we are."

"Well, I guess that explains the get-up."

The Titans all looked at each other in confusion. What was wrong with what they were wearing? "You wouldn't bitch like this if we were the Justice League.", Alex heard Beast Boy mutter to himself.

"Anyway, what do I do with this?" The blonde asked, meddling with the device.

"If anything comes up, just give us a call. Raven can poof us here in a second." Beast Boy said.

"Oh. You're just going to leave me alone?" She asked, slightly worried.

"Like he said, Raven can get us here in a second. You shouldn't be too worried if you don't have a power, and your son isn't showing one yet. We're just being overly cautious." Cyborg explained.

"I guess you're right. If we're done here now, I should get back inside." She said, opening the door and stepping inside before turning back around, "Oh, and, if nothing happens, I wouldn't mind not seeing you again." She continued looking over the group, as her eyes settled over Alex, "_Any_ of you." And with that, she shut the door in there faces.

"Well, that wasn't awkward." Beast Boy whistled.

Alex took a shaky breath, "Can we go back to the Tower now?" she asked.

"Sure." Raven said, once again grabbing Alex's hand. A few moments later, they were all in the common room.

"I think that went pretty well, all things considered." Beast Boy said, sitting down on the couch.

"Considering she _hates_ me?" Alex asked, voice shaking.

"Well, Alex, look at it from her side." Beast Boy tried to rationalize.

Raven glared at Beast Boy; he certainly wasn't helping the situation. Tugging on Alex's hand, she dragged her out of the common room before anything else could be said.

Before Alex knew what was going on, she found herself in Raven's room, and Raven was tucking her in bed. She opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Raven interrupted, "You need some rest. The fact that you just realized what's going on kind of shows that."

Alex, not really sure what else to do, just nodded, lying her head on the pillow as Raven pulled the blankets over her. Raven began to leave, but before she could get too far Alex quickly grabbed her by the hand, "Please...I don't want to be alone." She said, voice full of pleading and sorrow.

Raven simply found herself saying, "I'm not going anywhere." She soon lifted herself into her meditative pose as she began to meditate an arms length away from her friend.

Alex soon fell asleep to the sound of Raven's mantra, but even in her sleep couldn't get herself to let go of her hand.

* * *

><p><em>Song: Issues - Escape The Fate.<em>

_Thanks for reading :) tell me what you think?  
><em>


	16. I Don't Care If You're Contagious

_Thanks to my awesome beta reader, reviewers and readers. :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or the songs I use.  
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><strong>I Don't Care If You're Contagious<strong>_  
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Batman had once showed Robin something he thought he would never see in the Batcave. A nine millimeter Smith and Wesson handgun with a single bullet in the magazine. "Why is it green?", he had asked.

"It's made of kryptonite. It's the only time I'll ever use a gun. And it will only be if one of the few people I can call my friend crosses that thin line between Hero, and Tyrant.", Batman had said.

A contingency plan. He had a contingency plan for all the members of the JLA. He said that while it's hard to think your friends could betray you, it's better to be ready than be caught unprepared. And now Robin sat at a workbench, working on a special electric disc that would upload a deadly virus into Cyborg's software. He had finally finished welding the casing closed when his communicator beeped. He flipped it open, and Cyborg's face appeared on the screen.

"What's up Cy?", he asked. "Come to my room. I have something you should look at.", Cyborg said.

"I'll be right there.", Robin said before closing his communicator. He made it to Cyborg's room in good time and knocked three times. The door slid open and revealed Cyborg standing in front of a holographic display of a strand of DNA, with certain sections highlighted.

"What have you got?", Robin asked.

"Before I start I need to give you a quick genetics lesson.", Cyborg said. Robin grabbed a stool and sat down, his back against a work table.

"Alright Professor, enlighten me.", Robin said.

"Alright. You know already that genes determine certain things about us. How tall we get, are ability to gain and lose weight, even certain disorders, mental or otherwise, are passed to us through our genes.

"Some genes are like light switches, in that they can be turned on or off with the right manipulation. And some are like broken switches, the turn on or off, and can't be changed.", he held up a small holographic picture of the same DNA strand before continuing. "This is a strand of Madame Rouge's DNA. The highlighted section is what I've isolated as her metahuman gene. It's what gave her, her shape shifting ability. It's what gives most metahumans their abilities." He walked over to the display console and typed in something. The strand of Madame Rouge's DNA shrank a bit and moved aside as another strand appeared. "This is a strand of Beast Boy's DNA. As you can see, the same sections are highlighted. This is because both he and Madame Rouge have the same metahuman ability. But the real eye opener about this is how Beast Boy's gene was activated.", Cyborg said.

"He never did tell anyone how he got his power.", Robin said.

"For good reason. It was a bad time in his life. He told me what happened, and I expect you to keep it to yourself.", Cyborg said with deadly seriousness.

"You know I will.", Robin said.

"Beast Boy told me that when he was young, his parents took him with them when they went to Africa to try and find a cure for a disease that was being spread by a green monkey. They had been able to make a prototype cure, but needed a sample of the monkeys DNA to make it work."

"While they were going over some research notes, Beast Boy decided to wander around the campsite. When he looked into one of the trees, he saw a monkey, the same monkey his parents were looking for. Not knowing it carried a disease, he tried to reach for it. When he did that though, it bit him. His parents came running, saw the monkey, and rushed him back to their tent. His father decided to use the experimental cure. It worked, but had an unintentional side effect. It turned his skin green and activated his metahuman gene, which allows him to shape shift into animals.", Cyborg said.

Robin rubbed his chin, sorting out the new information. "What does this have to do with Alex's brother?", he asked.

"It means that he wasn't able to absorb Madame Rouge's DNA because they don't have enough genetic markers in common with each other.", Cyborg said. He rubbed his head a few times. "He shouldn't even be able to absorb anyone's powers.", he said.

Robin ran a hand through his hair, then snapped his fingers and declared, "Bioshock."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Like the game Bioshock?", he asked.

"Yeah. In the beginning of the game you used this stuff called ADAM to re-write your genetic code. This allowed you to use those different powers like electricity, incinerate, and ice blast.", Robin said.

"So what, you think Alex's brother worked with Deathstroke to create a serum to let him re-write his genetic structure and let him steal other people's powers?", Cyborg said, the skepticism in his voice obvious.

"Can you think of something better?", Robin asked.

Cyborg stood there for a moment, trying to think, before sighing. "No.", he said, defeated. Robin stood up.

"Get some sleep Cy, we'll figure something out. In the meantime, we'll tell Beast Boy and Starfire about this.", he said.

"What about Raven and Alex?", Cyborg asked.

"With Alex just finding out that her brother killed their mother and stole their uncle's power, she'll already want revenge. If she finds out about this, she might go off on her own. And considering the growing relationship between Alex and Raven, Raven might decide to help her, and that's the last thing we need. For now, it'll be our secret.", Robin said, turning and walking out the door.

Cyborg sighed heavily before shutting the machines off. He walked over to a wall, and pressed a few buttons before turning around and holding his arms out. Several arms extended and started taking Cyborg apart, placing his human parts in a protein solution to keep them from decomposing while his electronic parts were disassembled and hooked up to computers which would make adjustments to the hardware to maximize his performance in a fight. His head now suspended in the air by cable that were hooked into the electronic section of his brain, Cyborg shut his eyes.

Robin on the other hand, made his way back to his room and finished working on his virus disc, and immediately began work on something to render Alex powerless. He spent the rest of the night working.

XXX

Raven woke up late the next morning, which was rather odd for her, but not unheard of.

Walking into the common room, she saw the rest of the teens gathered around, staring out into the city in somewhat disbelief.

It was snowing.

In _Jump City._

Raven, completely aware of this fact, decided to ignore it. She hadn't even had her tea yet. After pouring herself a cup, she walked over to the rest of the teens, who were still staring out, somewhat dumbstruck.

Taking a sip, she glanced at Robin who had a thoughtful expression donned on his face, before looking out at the snow covered city.

After all, even though it _was_ technically winter, it wasn't exactly normal for it to snow in Jump City. She looked over to blankets of snow that had obviously formed miraculously over night, and took another sip of tea.

She knew that Robin wouldn't take this lightly, knowing that crime didn't take a snow day. Honestly, she didn't feel like dealing with it.

After taking another sip of her tea, she asked, "Can't we just roll it off as global warming and call it a day?"

Alex smirked. Little did Raven know, she'd said nearly the exact same thing.

XXX

As it turned out, it really _had _been some sort of evil mastermind conspiracy. Some man who called himself 'Cold Injustice' had somehow figured out how to make it snow over the entire city. His master plan was to make is snow until the city got tired of it and then they would pay him money to make it stop.

The Titans and Alex didn't get it either.

However, soon enough he was stopped and Cyborg figured out the mechanics of the machine, and it turns out it's really easy to stop something when you hit it hard enough.

He said it would stop snowing, but it would take a while for the snow that had already been processed to melt.

XXX

Later that day, Beast Boy nonchalantly walked up to Alex as she sat on the couch alone watching TV.

"Hey, Alex. 'Sup?"

"Watching TV." She answered, pointing at the television to make her point clear. "You?"

"I need your help!" He suddenly sat next to her as he clasped his hands together pleadingly.

"Uh...with what?" Alex asked incredulously.

Beast Boy looked down, suddenly embarrassed. "Well...you know Becca, right?—"

"I know _of_ her." Alex retorted in monotone.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "I wanted to...ask her on a date...but I don't know what to do...and like, you're a girl right?—"

"Last time I checked."

This time he ignored her, "—And you know her pretty good, I was just hoping you could...like...help me come up with something?" He asked, voice filled with hope.

Alex sighed, but couldn't hide her smirk. "She's probably really excited about the snow. She's from Arizona, after all. Or you can take her to a movie...Eclipse, probably."

"That Twilight one?"

"Yeah."

Beast Boy grimaced.

"You're the one who wants to take her on a date, I'm just suggesting." Alex reminded.

"I guess...but I don't want it to be all obvious that I'm asking her on a date...what if she says no?" He slumped in his seat.

Alex raised a curious brow. So _this_ was the real Beast Boy. He wasn't as cocky as he always acted.

Beast Boy's face seemed to light up as he thought about something, "Wait! What if you come to the movies _with _us? Then it's like a friend thing! And then we can hit it off."

"Beast Boy, I don't think—"

"Aw, come on! It'll be perfect!"

Alex sighed. "Fine. But you _owe_ me."

"Yes!" Beast Boy cheered, jumping off the couch excitedly, "Go ahead, call her. Tell her we're going to the movies this afternoon."

"Alright. And Beast Boy," Alex said as he began to walk off, "If you hurt her, don't forget that I _can_ hide your body."

He just smirked.

Alex sighed and slumped further into the couch. What had she gotten herself into?

XXX

Alex smiled at her brilliant idea as she stood outside Raven's door, and knocked.

Raven opened her door to reveal a smiling Alex. Immediately not trusting what was going on, she said, "Hey."

"Hey, Raven, you want to come to the movies with me, Beast Boy and Becca?"

That was why.

"What movie?" She was curious.

"Eclipse..." Alex answered, courage gone.

"No." Raven said, about to close her door.

"Wait, wait!" Alex said, reaching her hand out. "_Please_ do this. I really don't want to be the third wheel. Beast Boy only wants me to go because he likes Becca but he's too afraid to ask her out. If you go it's like a..." Alex refrained herself from saying 'double date', "Friends outing. _Please_? For me?"

Raven sighed. "Fine. But you _owe_ me."

Alex smirked at how familiar the words sounded.

"'Kay, we're leaving in like 10 minutes. See you then!" She said excitedly.

XXX

"That movie was awesome!" Beast Boy exclaimed as they left the building, walking out into the snow covered ground.

Alex and Becca laughed while Alex commented, "It was alright. The book was better."

"It was a _book_?" Beast Boy demanded.

Once again, Becca and Alex began laughing while Raven just stared at him.

Soon Becca linked her arm in Beast Boy's, who blushed in response. After regaining his composure he continued, "Those werewolves were so cool, though!"

"So Beast Boy is definitely Team Jacob." Alex commented, smirking. Becca laughed while Raven joined in softly.

"Do you think you can...you know, morph into one of them?" Becca asked, unsure.

"What, one of those wolves?" Beast Boy asked. "Of course! Step back and watch the show!" He said, walking forward a little before he morphed into a giant wolf straight from one of the Twilight movies.

"Whoa." Becca said, walking up and reaching out to pet behind his ears. Beast Boy immediately nuzzled up to her.

"Well? What are you waiting for, climb on!" He said, grinning as much as he could.

Becca looked back at Alex as if she were asking permission, and Alex nodded and pushed her forward before Becca found herself climbing onto Beast Boy's back. She grabbed onto the fur on the back of his neck. As soon as she had herself collected, Beast Boy dashed off with Becca laughing the entire way.

"They look like they're having fun." Raven commented.

"They do." Alex said, unable to keep the smile from her face. "I'm happy for them."

"Yeah." Raven said, turning to face Alex, only to find that she was gone. Turning around, she came face to face with a smirking Alex. "Ale—?" suddenly, she felt something wet and cold splat on the top of her head. As realization hit her, her face fell. "You seriously did not just do that."

Alex was having trouble not laughing. "I seriously did." She choked out. As she saw the murderous glare in Raven's eyes, she decided it would be a good time to run away. She didn't think something as simple as placing a _snowball_ on the top of her head would get to Raven so much.

But of course, it _was_ Raven.

Alex was laughing the entire time Raven chased her down the street, snowball in hand. Turning around to see how far behind Raven was, Alex's brows furrowed when she didn't see Raven behind her at all. Stopping in her tracks, she turned back around to see that Raven was now _in front _of her.

"What! You _teleported!_ That's cheat—!" Alex didn't get a chance to finish as Raven shoved the snowball right in her face. Alex's look of shock was enough to make Raven laugh. "I can't believe you did that!" She said as she wiped the cold snow from her face, face officially becoming numb.

"Believe it." Raven said matter-of-factly.

Alex squinted her eyes at Raven, before she literally tackled her to the soft snow with an 'umph'.

Somehow, Raven ended up on top.

"Wait, how did _this_ happen?" Alex asked, noting their positions. "I tackled _you._" Raven smirked in response, grabbing a handful of snow. Alex noticed this, "Oh no you don't," She said, taking Raven by surprise and rolling them over so she was now on top. "It's _my _turn." She reached her hand out and grabbed a handful of snow, about to smother it all over Raven's face. Raven clenched her eyes shut in anticipation as she felt the all too cold snow come in contact with her face. She heard Alex laugh, "_There,_ now we're even."

Raven began to wipe the snow off her face as Alex rolled off her, lying in the snow next to her. "How do you call this even? You've gotten me twice. I've only gotten you once."

Alex shrugged, "Its Alex math."

"Alex math is wrong."

Alex giggled as she looked to Raven. "I guess you're just going to have to get me again."

Raven flicked her hand in the air and a pile of snow was surrounded in a black aura, making a beeline for Alex, unbeknownst her. Before Alex knew what was going on, the pile of snow had already made it to directly above her, and Raven let it go. Needless to say, the pile of snow landed right on Alex, covering her from head to toe.

Alex made a high-pitched crying sound that Raven swore to herself _wasn't _the cutest thing she'd ever heard.

Alex immediately jumped out of it and shivered, pointing an accusatory finger at Raven, "_You— !_"

"_Now_ we're even." Raven grinned.

Alex slumped, eventually agreeing as she went to lie back down next to Raven in the snow covered ground. She was glad that in the midst of all their running, they'd made it to some sort of field where there were other people playing in the snow. At least they didn't look like weirdos.

After a few minutes, Alex started making a snow angel.

"...What are you doing?" Raven asked curiously.

"What's it look like? Making a snow angel." Alex answered happily.

"...Seriously? You're such a kid."

"What? It's not like I'm the only one doing it."

"Yeah, look. There's a five year old over there."

"Uh, you're clearly mistaken. She looks at least eight to me."

Raven rolled her eyes, "She's still a kid."

Alex laughed, "Come on, Raven. It's fun. You should try it."

"I'm not an angel. Quite the opposite, really." She said, looking away from Alex.

Alex faltered, then stopped making her snow angel all together as she looked at Raven. "Neither am I. But I don't think it's what's in your blood that counts, I think it's what you do every day to strive to make yourself a better person. You know, what you do to keep yourself going every day. You're a good person; don't ever let someone tell you otherwise. So—even if you're not an angel, Raven—and really, who is?— You're not the opposite either."

During Alex's speech, Raven turned her head back over and was looking into those caring eyes she sometimes went crazy over. In Alex's case, her eyes were a true window to her soul. Raven could see the caring and genuine sincerity pouring out of her eyes, and she almost forgot where she was.

The next thing she knew, she rolled herself over, in a half hug on top of Alex. Burring her head into Alex's neck, she sighed contently.

"Uh...Raven?..." Alex asked quietly.

"I'm cold." Raven lied. "You know what they say about body heat and all."

Alex shivered under Raven as she softly felt Raven's lips barely brush against her neck. Raven smirked.

"I thought for that to work our clothes had to be off." Alex absentmindedly commented. A moment later, she realized what came out of her mouth and her face flushed. Then her imagination began to kick in. It wasn't helping that Raven was still on top of her.

Great job, Alex.

"That only makes it faster. This is the PG version." Raven stated, smirking. She also couldn't believe what Alex had said. Her imagination was also in working in full force.

Thank you, Alex.

"W—well, if we're both so cold, maybe we should just head back to the Tower." Alex blamed her stuttering on the cold.

"Mmh." Raven mumbled, "I don't know. This is pretty comfortable."

Alex laughed, "You're not the one whose _ass_ is _literally _freezing in the snow."

Raven laughed softly. Alex suppressed another shiver as she felt Raven's breath on her neck.

"One of us is going to get sick." Alex tried.

"Mhmm." Raven nodded, unconvinced.

Noting that that wasn't working, Alex decided the more blunt approach, "We should really head back, Raven."

Raven sighed, but eventually got up, and held out a hand to help Alex up.

However, as soon as they each got up, Alex was pelted on the side with a snowball, while Raven was pelted in the chest.

"Aha! I got her!" Becca called out, excitedly pounding a fist in the air, before high fiving Beast Boy, who was right next to her and doing a jig of his own.

Alex and Raven both blinked as they realized what happened.

Then they narrowed their eyes. It was _so _on.

They each reached down and grabbed a hand full of snow, while Beast Boy yelped, grabbing Becca by the hand and ran away.

Alex and Raven chased them around the field, until Beast Boy yanked Becca's arm and pulled her behind a tree, pushing her against it. "We should be safe here." He said, trying to regain his breath as he smiled.

Becca didn't really know what it was that made her do it. Maybe it was the fact that she was pinned between him and a tree, maybe it was from the adrenaline coursing through her system, maybe it was the fact that she hadn't had this much fun in a really long time. Or maybe it was the fact that she really _did_ like Beast Boy.

But before she could stop herself, Becca captured Beast Boy's lips in her own. She loved the surprised squeak he made, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Soon he licked her lip, asking for entrance. Neither of them knew how long they were standing there, they were just lost in the moment.

"Ew, gross. Get a room guys."

And then Alex had to ruin it.

Becca pulled away from the kiss, well aware of the grin on her lips, "Okay."

Alex and Raven rolled their eyes while Beast Boy blushed, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly.

"Well, I think it's time we head back." Alex said, "I'm cold."

Raven smirked, thinking back to their earlier conversation. Grabbing Alex's hand, she teleported them all back to the Tower.

XXX

A couple days later, Raven stumbled into the common room with a stuffy nose and congested chest.

Making a cup of tea, she sat down in her usual spot.

She sneezed, gaining the attention of the entire room.

Looking up, she feigned innocence, however they could tell it was her by the look on her face. Her nose and cheeks were red, while her eyes were dark from what looked like little to no sleep from the night before.

In short, she looked sick.

"What?" She asked, even _sounding _sick. "It's allergies."

"Since when do you have allergies?" Beast Boy asked.

"Since I said so." Raven countered.

Alex, on the other hand, wasn't having any of it. She felt guilty for having Raven stay in the snow.

"Oh, my god, you're sick!" Alex exclaimed, rushing to Raven's side.

Raven swatted Alex away, "Its allergies." She repeated.

"You're clearly sick." Alex said in a motherly tone, "We were playing in the snow all day the other day."

"I'm _fine_." She couldn't even say _that_ right.

"No you aren't! Go back to bed this instant. I'll be there in a few minutes with a drink that will make you feel better. Then you're going to go back to sleep." Alex commanded.

Raven looked at Alex in shock. People didn't talk to her like that; it just didn't happen.

She quickly composed herself, and stared Alex in the eyes. She _would _win this battle.

Alex stared back, boring her eyes into Raven's without flinching.

After a few minutes, Raven gave a defeated sigh and got up from her chair before she stumbled out of the common room, back to her room. She was too tired to argue.

"Wow, she _must _be sick. She just gave up." Robin smirked.

"Then again, this _is_ Alex and Raven we're talking about." Cyborg joined in. Alex rolled her eyes, walking to the kitchen.

XXX

Raven literally threw herself on her bed. Maybe sleep would be a good idea after all, considering she barely got any last night. She got more comfortable, laying her head on her pillow and closed her eyes.

As soon as she was about to doze off, she heard a knock on her door.

Oh, that was right. Alex was going to give her something to drink. Groaning, she didn't feel like getting up. She was too comfortable.

"Come in." She half shouted.

"It's locked..." Alex said through the door.

"That's not a problem for _you._" Raven reminded.

"Oh. _Oh._" Alex said, phasing through the door with a cup in her hand. As soon as she was through, she saw Raven lying on the bed, hugging her blankets and looking too tired to keep her eyes open. She had to suppress herself from saying 'aww'. "I wasn't sure if that was okay or not."

"Only when I say it is." Raven said.

"Okay," Alex said, "Well, I brought you your drink, but there's something you should know about it first." She explained with somewhat shifty eyes.

"What..." Raven asked, becoming suspicious as she sat up.

"Well...can you smell anything?"

"No."

"Can you taste anything?"

"No."

"Good!" Alex said, sitting beside Raven.

Raven wasn't really sure how to take that. "What's in it?..."

"Okay, here's the story. When I was like, five, I was playing bartender, and I put a whole bunch of random ingredients in a cup. My dad had a cold at the time, and instead of reaching for his cup of coffee, he reached for my cup full of random stuff, and when he drank it, he said it tasted awful, but he could immediately breathe easier afterwards."

"Alex...what's in it."

"If I tell you, you won't want to drink it." Alex said, handing the cup over to Raven. Raven looked at the murky brown contents of the cup suspiciously. "Go on, have a sip. You'll feel better, trust me. I've had it before too...it won't kill you."

Raven grudgingly brought the cup to her lips, and did as she was told. She felt the liquid slide down her throat, and indeed, immediately she felt cleared up.

A second later, she could smell the foul smell coming from the cup.

"Oh, god, Alex. What did I just _drink_?"

"See! You already sound better! Don't you feel better too?" Alex asked, excited her method worked. "Though...I should tell you that there _is _some vodka in it..."

"_What_?"

"Don't look at me like that! _Beast Boy_ had it!" Alex said, defending herself.

"Why didn't you tell me that _before_ I drank it!" Raven demanded

"Well...I…,I didn't think you'd drink it then...I just want you to feel better..." Alex said, unable to look Raven in the eyes, "I'm sorry."

Raven sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "It's okay."

Sensing Raven's annoyance, Alex decided it was a good time to leave. Getting up to do so, she made her way halfway to do the door before she quickly turned around "Oh, I keep forgetting!"

"Hm?"

"Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?"

"...What?" The absurdity of the question threw Raven off guard.

"Are you Team—"

"I heard you, but just...wow."

"Well...which one are you?"

"Neither."

"Oh. So you're Team Alice?" Alex asked, trying to hold back her smirk.

"What? No! I meant—I don't have a team." Raven said, quickly recovering from her blush.

Alex sighed, "If you had to choose, would you choose brooding and pale or muscle-y and tan?"

Raven once again bowed her head, sighing. "Neither."

"You have to _choose_." Alex drawled in a complaining voice. "And were basing this off of the movies, not the books."

Raven rolled her eyes. She had to admit though, that _did _make a difference.

"Come on, bronze hair, golden eyes, sparkling skin, strong grip, cold touch, or dark hair, tan skin, muscled body, warm touch—"

"Jacob." Raven blurted out, before blushing.

Alex's eyes gleamed with amusement. "'Kay." Was all she said, before she walked out of the room, leaving Raven to be confused.

XXX

A couple days later, Raven awoke feeling fantastic. Her cold was completely gone.

After she did her usual morning routine, she walked out of her room...only to step on something right outside her door. Looking down, she realized it was a T-shirt. Unfolding it, she couldn't help the scowl that formed on her face when it read:

**I LIKE 'EM HOT 'N FURRY**

**TEAM JACOB**

Immediately crumpling up the shirt in her fist, Raven stalked her way to the common room with a certain brunette in mind.

In the common room, Alex was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a bowl of cereal when Raven almost quite literally blasted her way in. Barely glancing up, Alex said, "Hey."

Raven stormed up to Alex, throwing the offending shirt onto the table in front of her, "What's _this_?" She demanded.

Alex looked at the t-shirt, then up at Raven who honestly looked like she wanted to kill someone.

Alex just couldn't keep it in. As she laughed, she held her stomach, trying not to fall over in the chair.

Raven, on the other hand, couldn't see what was so funny.

"Alex—"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Alex began through her laughter. After she calmed herself down, she continued, "I just saw it at the store, and I was like 'Oh, my god, I have to get that for her!'"

"_Why_?"

"Because I knew how you'd react." Alex laughed.

"You _like_ making me angry?"

"Raven, calm down. It's just a shirt. I know you're not going to wear it. I like the fact that it's going to sit in your closet, making you a literal 'closet Team Jacob fan'."

"What if I burn it?" Raven narrowed her eyes.

"You wouldn't do that. I spent my own money on it..."

Raven sighed.

"Come on, you know it's funny. '_I like 'em hot 'n furry_.'" Alex laughed.

Rolling her eyes, Raven said, "You evaded my question. You _like_ making me angry?"

Alex shifted her eyes back and forth, seemingly looking for a way out. "Uh...well...you know."

"No, I don't know."

"You're...cutewhenyou'reangry." Alex blurted out, blushing.

It took a second, but Raven was able to decipher what Alex had said. Blushing, all she said was, "Oh." Finally regaining composure, she was able to look back at Alex, who looked like she was still having trouble regaining hers.

Dammit, Alex. Seriously. Why did _she _have to be so cute? Not that that's what Raven was thinking or anything.

Brows furrowing, Raven grudgingly grabbed the T-shirt off of the table. "I'm _never_ going to wear this."

Alex looked up at Raven, suddenly hopeful, "But you'll keep it?"

Raven rolled her eyes and nodded curtly in response. Alex beamed a smile.

Suddenly, Alex sneezed.

Looking up at a concerned Raven she said, "Its allergies, I swear."

* * *

><p><em>Song: I Don't Care If You're Contagious - Pierce The Veil.<em>

_Hope you liked :]_

_dw, it picks up soon._

_review please?  
><em>


	17. Bulletproof Love

_Hey guys! Sorry it took me forever to get this updated :( I know its been like a month. I'll explain that at the end of the chapter, I promise._

_Anyway, thanks to my reviewers and readers :) always appreciated._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.  
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><p><strong>Bulletproof Love<strong>

The Titan Tower held a light atmosphere as Christmas was fast approaching. Decorations were being placed, and they had just bought a Christmas Tree to complete the look.

"I love decorating the tree, it's like the best part." Alex smiled as she started putting ornaments on the tree.

"Why's that?" Cyborg asked with a quirked brow as he joined her.

"You know...I don't really know. It was always just the funnest, in my opinion. It always looks so pretty afterword, so we have to be sure to take a picture of it." Alex lightly demanded.

Cyborg chuckled, "Alright, you're the boss of this thing." He said as he remembered Alex almost completely took charge of picking the tree out.

Raven watched if half amusement as Alex ordered Cyborg where to place the ornaments, before she heard the brunette call her name. "Hm?" Raven asked, clearly not paying attention.

"I said, why don't you make yourself useful and help us instead of just sitting there _watching_ us." Alex said, turning around with a grin on her face, a glint of amusement in her eye.

"It's your tree, I wouldn't want to get in the way." Raven retorted.

Alex sighed, turning back around to place more ornaments. "You aren't a fan of Christmas, are you?"

"It's just an excuse to buy presents; no one cares about the actual meaning anymore. All it does is induce stress upon those trying to find a present for others, in a silent competition to get better gifts than the rest." Raven simply stated.

Alex sighed, albeit heavier, "I guess you could look at it that way." She said, putting another ornament on the tree, "But I haven't had a chance to celebrate Christmas in _years._ Nothing you say is going to ruin this for me." She ended matter-of-factly.

"I wasn't trying to ruin it for you," Raven defended, "I'm simply stating my opinion on the matter."

"Want to know what I think?" Beast Boy suddenly asked from the side, clearly listening in on the conversation.

"Not really." Alex answered at the same time Raven said, "No." Causing Cyborg to laugh to himself.

Beast Boy ignored the three and continued, "I think we need some misletoe." He said with a suggestive smirk.

"Why's that, Becca not giving you enough kissing action so now you need an excuse?" Cyborg laughed.

"No!" Beast Boy shouted a little too loudly, "I just think it would complete the look is all." He huffed, crossing his chest. "And just to let you know, me and Becca kiss plenty. Sometimes more."

"Wow," Alex said aloud, immediately covering her eyes with her hand, "Please never say anything like that again."

"What? Jealous?" Beast Boy smirked.

"Yes, Beast Boy, I'm completely jealous." Alex deadpanned. Her Sarcasm was very obvious.

"Well..." Beast Boy started, "It would make sense and all. Seeing as you two _did_ kiss before. You might be jealous that I took her away from you." He grinned, obviously happy with his statement.

Alex finally turned around, narrowing her eyes at her green friend, "For the last time, the kiss didn't mean anything!" She said, throwing her hands into the air for emphasis, before turning her attention back to the nearly completed tree. "I wasn't even thinking of her." She mumbled, almost too quietly for anyone to hear. Cyborg immediately smirked, having a pretty good guess about who she actually was thinking about.

"Wait..." Beast Boy said, barely catching on to what she said, "You were thinking of someone else? _Who_?"

"None of your business."

"Aw, why not? If I guess will you tell me?"

"No."

Raven quirked a brow. She had to admit, her curiosity was piqued.

"...Was it that vampire Edward guy?"

"Gross, no." Alex answered in disgust.

"Oh. Wait! I know! Brad Pitt."

"Less gross, but still no."

"...Is it someone I know?"

"Beast Boy-I already told you I wasn't going to-"

"Aha! So it _is _someone I know." He said triumphantly. "So, is it someone close? Like...one of the Titans? Here or East."

Alex sighed, getting irritated, "I told you I'm not going to answer..."

"You know, when you answer like that it gives it away." Cyborg smirked.

Alex flushed, "Shut up. Its _no one's _concern. Okay?"

"You _are_ going to tell me...eventually. Or you'll tell Becca, and she'll tell me." Beast Boy said, completely sure of himself.

"No, she wont." Alex answered.

"Oh, my god, she already knows?" He exclaimed. "How come you'll tell her but you wont tell me?" He asked, a glimmer of hurt in his eyes.

"Because you don't have that ridiculous pouting power she has."

"Tch, don't make me bust out 'the face'."

"Give it your best shot." She shrugged. Suddenly Alex felt a small scratching on her jeans, and when she looked down, she noticed a cute little green kitten. He slowly circled around her feet, giving a soft mewing sound before he finally looked up at her, pleadingly, with the largest eyes she'd ever seen. Alex had to admit, it was rather cute. Still, it wasn't good enough. "Nope."

"Aw! Come on! I'm doing my best here!" The kitten exclaimed. "Starfire can never resist this!"

Alex shrugged again, "Well, its not working on me. Seriously, just give it up."

Beast Boy sighed as he turned back to his normal self. "I _will_ find out."

"Whatever." Alex sing-songed. She really didn't like this conversation at all, especially as the person of the subject was actually _there_, listening. She turned around to and caught Raven's stare. She flushed at the curious look in Raven's eyes, knowing that if she knew the truth, she'd probably be disgusted.

"Looks like we're done." Cyborg interrupted Alex's thoughts as he took a step back and admired the tree.

"What? We still need to do the tinsel." Alex said.

"Of course, oh queen of the Christmas tree." Cyborg bowed before going off to find the tinsel. Alex rolled her eyes.

"I'm not _that_ bad." Alex defended herself, before looking back at Raven. "You want to help us now? This is the fun part."

"I guess." Raven shrugged, "I wouldn't want the 'queen of the Christmas tree' to be upset with me. Who knows what would happen." Alex's face fell after that statement, causing Raven to hold back a smirk.

"Stop making me a bad person." Alex whined, before she noticed that Beast Boy was gone. "Hey, where'd Green Bean go?"

"Probably to call Becca about your kiss." Raven said with another shrug, before she got up and made her way to the tree. She noticed the slight blush on Alex's face. "You seem pretty adamant about not telling anyone."

Alex couldn't manage to look Raven in the eye, "Please don't take it personally."

"Don't worry." Raven said, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. "Do you still like them?"

"What?"

"Do you still like...whoever you were thinking about." Raven asked, and this time _she _couldn't look _Alex_ in the eye.

Alex blushed even deeper, having to look away, "I do, yeah. I've honestly never felt this way about anyone before."

For some reason that Raven couldn't really process, she felt her heart ache.

Cyborg came walking back up with a few packages of silver tinsel in his hands, "Y'all ready to finish this thing?"

Raven grabbed one of the packages of tinsel and opened it. "So...what exactly do we do with this?"

"Well...all you have to do is throw it on the tree, really. Just try and make sure its an even coat." Alex answered, as she showed Raven exactly what to do.

"That's it?" Raven asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Mhm." Alex nodded.

"What's the purpose of this?" Raven asked, starting to help.

"It makes the tree look all shiny."

Raven nearly snorted. Of course the tree had to be shiny.

A few minutes passed in silence, until Raven accidently got some tinsel on Alex's hand. Alex looked at Raven curiously before a mischievous grin made its way on to her face, and she put some tinsel on the top of Raven's head, making sure it dangled down perfectly.

Raven was shocked by the action. But of course, this meant war.

Raven took some of the tinsel and all-out threw it at Alex, whose face then became covered in tinsel. Alex simply laughed and began to throw some more towards Raven, and eventually Cyborg.

"Hey now, don't drag me into this!" Cyborg cried, throwing his hands up defensively.

Alex simply smirked and placed some tinsel on the top of his head, making sure it adorned him like some sort of wig. "Hm...suits you." She giggled.

Raven turned to look at Cyborg, the tinsel beginning at the top of his head and falling down to his shoulders. "Definitely."

"Are you girls trying to tell me I should get some hair?" Cyborg's eyes narrowed.

"No, no. Of course not. Just, if you ever decide to, make sure it's silver." Alex grinned.

Cyborg chuckled, "Whatever. You two get to clean this up, I hope you know."

"Aw, but-"

"_You_ made this mess. I aint cleanin' it up."

"Fine. Be mean."

Cyborg shrugged, "Alright."

Alex narrowed her eyes as Cyborg began walking out of the room. Then she turned to Raven, who was in the process of wiping all the tinsel off of herself.

Raven suddenly felt a soft hand brush against her cheek, nearly causing her to shiver. She looked up and realized that the hand was attached to Alex. She then found herself looking into Alex's eyes, unable to move. Alex stared back, keeping her hand in place. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them really knew how long. They were just content staring into each other's eyes.

"Alex! Hide me, quick!" Becca's voice suddenly ruined the moment, causing both girls to back away, and for Alex to retract her hand.

Becca raised a curious brow, "Am I...interrupting something?"

"No." Both girls answered a little too quickly.

"Raven had some tinsel on her face." Alex said, holding up said tinsel in her hand.

"Oh." Becca said, clearly unbelieving, "Well, you have to hide me!"

Alex sighed, "Why?"

"Because Beast Boy won't leave me alone about our kiss. Its really annoying."

"You didn't tell him, did you?" Alex asked, petrified.

"What? No! Of course not." Becca said, and Alex sighed in relief. "Though if you ask me it's pretty obvious." Becca mumbled.

Suddenly Beast Boy walked into the room, "There you are! You have to tell me!"

"No! Drop it, seriously!" Becca turned around to face her boyfriend, who tried to pout.

"But-I'm your _boyfriend!_ Why won't you tell me?" He pouted.

"Alex is my best friend. What's that saying? Bro's before Hoes?"

Alex face-palmed while Beast Boy slumped his shoulders, "But..."

"No. I'm not telling anyone. I made a promise." She said, turning back to Alex. She suddenly gasped, looking at the tree behind her. "It's so pretty! But...where's the star?"

Alex turned around to study the tree, and sure enough, there was no star on top. She sighed. It looked like the tree wasn't done after all. "Where do you guys keep it?" Alex asked.

"I'm pretty sure Beast Boy broke it last year."

"What? Sure! Blame me!" Beast Boy threw his hands into the air.

"You're the one that dropped it."

"On _accident_."

"That doesn't really change the outcome, does it?"

Alex rolled her eyes, "I guess that just means we have to go get a new one."

"I'm in! Let's go, just me and you!" Becca exclaimed, nearly jumping up and down in excitement.

"Uh...'kay." Alex said, somewhat incredulously. She knew Becca was up to something.

XXX

"Why did we have to come to the _mall_?" Alex whined.

"Because the mall has everything." Becca shrugged, "Besides, I wanted to get away from Beast Boy and all his questions. If he keeps going on like this, I might crack."

"Becca, I swear, you better not." Alex threatened

"Wow, okay. Calm down, I was mostly kidding."

"_Mostly_?" Alex face-palmed.

"Besides, thats not what we need to talk about. What did I interrupt between you and Raven?" Just like Becca, going straight to the point. Alex blushed at the memory, but didn't say anything. "Ha! So I _was_ interrupting something."

"No...we were just-" Alex cut herself off as she thought about it, "I don't know what we were doing."

"But you had your hand placed on her cheek; it was obviously an affectionate moment. Who knows? Maybe if I didn't interrupt you two would have kissed."

"Becca!"

"What?" Becca demanded, "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Well...just-be quiet."

Becca smirked.

Soon enough they'd purchased a star for the top of the tree. "Now we can finally finish it."

"You know, you should have invited me over for decorations."

"Aren't you going to your dads next week? You're going to decorate with him."

"He said I'm too old for that kind of thing now." Becca pouted. "It's worse than when he said I was too old for trick-or-treating."

"Well, you can put the star on the tree. How about that?"

"You know, I knew you'd say that. You're easier than Beast Boy."

"No need for insults, Becca."

Becca just snorted as they exited the mall, leaving the crowds.

At least Alex knew what Becca had been up to; she just wanted to talk about what was going on earlier.

Then again, she didn't really know what _had_ happened earlier. All she knew was that Raven had missed some tinsel that was hanging on her cheek, so she went to take it off for her. However, it wasn't really that simple. The next thing she knew, Raven was just...looking into her eyes. It was almost as if she was looking _into her soul_, and for a brief moment it was very intimate. She had to admit, it was a nice moment; though she was silently cursing herself for being so foolish. What if Raven saw right in her eyes just how much she felt about her?

To Alex, that would be terrible. She didn't want Raven to know because she was terrified of what Raven would think. She didn't want to ruin what they already had as friends.

XXX

Soon enough they were back at the Tower, and Becca was about to put the finishing touches onto the Christmas tree.

"Well, now that that's _finally_ finished, I'd better go find a camera." Alex said.

"Why?" Becca questioned.

"Because we need to take a picture of it." Alex answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll go find Cy, he probably has one."

"Oh! You know what? Let's make this like a group picture! That would be so cool!" Becca exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

Alex rolled her eyes, "I don't know..."

"Come one, _please?_" Becca asked, about to break out her pout.

"Alright, fine! Just don't do...that."

Becca grinned in victory, "I'll go get Beast Boy and the others. You find Cy and your lover girl."

Alex flushed, "Wha-don't call her that!"

Becca just laughed as she ran out the door, hiding from Alex's wrath.

XXX

Alex had found Cyborg with ease, and managed to convince him to the group picture. However, she knew he wasn't going to be the hard part.

She nervously knocked at Raven's door. A few moments later, Raven answered, "Hey, Alex."

"Hey. We were just about to take a picture of the Christmas tree and it kind of turned into a...group picture thing. You in?" Alex asked, the hope in her voice quite evident.

Raven didn't seem that excited, "I don't know-"

"The queen of the Christmas tree commands it?" Alex tried.

That made Raven smile, which made Alex smile in turn. "Well, I wouldn't want to upset the queen."

Alex's smile grew, "Is that a fact?"

Raven rolled her eyes as she exited her room, leading the way to the common room.

"Well it's about time you got here! We were about to take the picture without you!" Beast Boy exclaimed, impatient.

"Let's get this over with." Raven said.

"So...who's taking the picture?" Alex asked.

"Well, Alex, there's this amazing new technology that lets you have this _timer_-" Cyborg started, only to be cut off by Alex.

"Hahah, alright, I get it." She said, not amused.

Cyborg smirked, "Alright, everyone ready? Here we go..."

As the picture was about to be taken, Alex noticed Raven standing on the side, somewhat away from everyone else. "Raven, what are you doing all the way over there?" She asked, instinctively wrapping her arm around Raven's waist and dragging her closer to her side. Raven was initially surprised, but didn't fight the action. It felt...nice. Natural. And when the camera flashed, she found that she was actually _smiling._

"Goofy picture time!" Becca shouted.

"Seriously?" Robin asked.

"Don't even bother, she'll start pouting." Alex said, arm still snaked around Raven's waist.

Robin rolled his eyes, "Like that would actually wor-" He started, but after he looked at Becca, he noticed her lip pouted out and her big brown eyes working in full force. He sighed, bowing his head, "_Fine_."

"Yay!" Becca exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Raven, do you even _know_ how to be goofy?" Alex asked, quite serious.

"No. I think I'll sit this one out."

"What? No!" Alex exclaimed, before a devilish smirk came onto her lips.

Raven narrowed her eyes, "That's not going to work."

"You don't even know-"

"I'm pretty sure I do."

Alex ignored Raven's words and began poking at her sides, trying to illicit laughter from the other girl. The only problem was...nothing happened.

"Wow...you seriously _aren't_ ticklish?" Alex pouted.

"Tried to tell you."

"I mean-who in the world isn't ticklish?" She asked.

Raven shrugged, before a devilish smirk came onto _her _lips.

"Raven...don't you dare."

"What?" She asked innocently as she approached the other girl, smirk still in place.

"I swear to god if you-" Too late, Raven was already attacking her sides with her fingers. Alex began laughing uncontrollably. "Stop-hahahahah-it!" Soon enough, Raven began laughing too. Alex soon fell to the floor, but Raven followed her, still tickling her sides.

Soon, there was a flash, and both girls looked up confused. "That's a great picture!" Becca exclaimed.

Both girls had honestly forgotten about the presence of everyone else. Clearing her throat, Raven got up and promptly assisted Alex in getting up as well. Both girls couldn't help but blush.

"I'm so putting these on Facebook." Becca said, immediately dashing out of the room. Alex ran after her, obviously trying to stop her.

As soon as the two girls were out of the room, Raven noticed everyone's attention was on her. "...What?" She asked innocently.

XXX

"Becca, do you _have_ to?" Alex asked, obviously not happy with the situation. Becca was already sitting in front of the computer, loading the pictures onto her account.

"Of course I do. These are great pictures."

"But..." Alex trialed off.

"Come on, don't worry about it. You two look so _cute_." Becca nearly squealed, before turning serious, "You should just tell her, you know."

"What?" Alex asked, mortified, "No!"

"Why not?" Becca asked.

"Because...it'd just ruin everything."

"Alex," Becca began as she pulled up the picture of the two on the ground as Raven had been tickling the brunette just a few minutes earlier, "Look at this picture, look at her _smile_, and tell me she doesn't feel the same."

Alex stared at the picture, she had to admit, it was a beautiful picture of Raven. She then looked noticed the picture next to it, the picture that was taken first, where Alex had her arm snaked around Raven's waist. She immediately fell in love with that picture. It just looked so...perfect. So natural. Like they belonged like that forever.

Alex sighed as she thought about it, "It's more complicated than that, Becca..."

"But _why_? Why can't you just tell her?"

"Because I'm not _brave_ enough, okay?" Alex said, on the verge of shouting. She was getting annoyed with this topic already. So needless to say, she was rather perplexed when she heard Becca's laughter.

"You're not brave enough? Alex, you put your life on the line like every _day_, and you say you're not _brave_ enough?" Becca asked incredulously.

"This is a different kind of brave, Becca. I don't have this kind."

"Oh, that is such _bull; you_ seriously can't see it, can you?"

"See what?"

"Oh, my god!" Becca nearly head-desked.

"_What_?"

"Just...never mind. I'm done trying. Tell her if you want. Its clear which side I'm on." Becca said, getting up from the computer.

"Wha..." Alex trailed off, severely confused.

"Alex, I'm saying this as a friend. You seriously need to talk to her. I know it's difficult, but in the end at least you won't be wondering anymore, right?"

"I guess..."

"Great! So you're going to tell her then?"

"Uh...what?"

"Do it, Alex."

"Fine...just...give me a while, all right?"

"...How long is a while?"

"As long as it takes me." Alex narrowed her eyes.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you _do _it."

Alex's pulse jumped at the very thought of the idea, but she knew she'd better do it. "I will..."

XXX

A few days had passed, and Alex still had yet to make anything on her word. In fact, as things turned out, she was actually _avoiding _Raven.

It was Christmas Eve, and she'd made sure that the two of them barely had any contact with each other as the days passed.

Raven was rather perplexed at Alex's odd behavior. She felt like Alex was avoiding her, which made her wonder if she'd done anything wrong.

Late that night she found Alex kneeling down in front of the Christmas tree, in what looked like putting the final touches on a present. "Hey." Raven called.

Alex nearly jumped, being caught off guard. "Hey. I was just putting your present down here."

"Oh?" Raven asked.

"Yeah, I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will."

A few seconds of awkward silence stretched on before Alex finally asked, "Wanna open it now?"

"Shouldn't it wait until tomorrow?"

Alex smiled and waved a dismissive hand, "Back home, we always used to open one present on Christmas Eve."

Raven shrugged, she had to admit, she was curious, "Alright, but only if you open mine."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Alex continued smiling, picking up both their gifts.

Raven's was wrapped in a small square box, while Alex's was in a small rectangular box. Alex couldn't help but notice how Raven's wrapping was done much neater.

"Well, go on." Alex prompted.

Raven rolled her eyes but did as she was told, neatly unwrapping the paper, revealing a black box. Curiosity piqued, look back at Alex who nodded for her to go on and open it. Inside the box was a 6 banded silver ring. Raven looked at it curiously before picking it up. As she did so, the ring started to come apart. She looked up at Alex curiously.

"It's a puzzle ring, it's suppose to come apart like that." Alex said, "I just figured...'cause you like puzzles and all...I was hoping you'd like this."

"I do." Raven said, sliding the ring onto her pinky finger. She couldn't help but keep looking at it, it was such a beautiful ring.

Alex smiled, "I'm glad."

"Thank you, Alex."

"You're welcome."

"Well, aren't you going to open yours?" Raven asked with a hint of a smile.

"Oh, yeah." Alex chuckled, looking down at the rectangular shape. She tore at the paper to reveal a box; half expecting a necklace, she opened it. She was really surprised by what was inside. "...A key?"

Raven smiled, "Follow me." She said, getting up and heading towards the door

Alex raised a curious brow, "Uh...okay?" Alex asked, following Raven. A few minutes of silence passed, and Alex had to admit, she had no idea what was going on, "Okay, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Have I ever told you I hate surprises?"

"No, because you don't." Raven said as she stopped outside the garage. Alex looked around, confused.

"You gave me a key to the garage?" She asked.

Raven rolled her eyes, but none the less said, "No, and close your eyes." Alex looked at her friend incredulously. "Do you want your present or-"

"Fine!" Alex said, shutting her eyes. "Better not lead me into a wall or something." She mumbled.

"Where's the trust?" Raven asked. Alex just snorted. A moment later, Raven grabbed Alex's hand and began leading her into the garage. Suddenly Raven let go and said, "No peaking." and a moment later she heard something that sounded like a sheet uncovering something.

"Can I look _now_?" Alex asked, impatient.

"Go ahead." Raven said, next to Alex again. Alex immediately opened her eyes and what she saw shocked the life out of her.

In front of her was a black motorcycle, an MV Agusta to be exact. She recognized it from a catalog she was looking at a while back.

"Whoa..." Alex said, immediately running up to it and placing her hand on the seat, "Seriously?"

"I'm guessing you like it?" Raven asked, smirking.

"This is incredible!" Alex exclaimed, before looking back up at Raven, "You didn't have to do this."

"Well, I figured this way you wouldn't have to steal Robin's bike anymore."

Alex blushed at the memory. He was pissed about that one for _weeks, _especially considering she basically wrecked it.

"Still...I feel kind of bad for only getting you that ring now..." Alex trailed off.

"Don't, I like it. And I want you to have this."

Alex smiled, "Even still, this is amazing, Raven..."

"Cyborg put some gadgets in it, too."

Alex's eyes lit up, "Like what?"

"A lot of the things Robin's has; a tracking device, some weapons, things like that." Raven answered.

"That's so cool!" Alex exclaimed as she rushed up to give Raven a hug, "Thank you _so_ much. I have no idea how to repay you."

"It's Christmas, isn't giving what it's all about? Besides, you got me this ring. I'd say we're even." Raven returned the hug.

"Oh,_ now_ you have the Christmas spirit. Were you visited by three ghosts or something?" Alex laughed.

"What?" Raven asked, confused.

"...You've never seen Scrooge, have you." Alex nearly face-palmed as she retreated from the hug, "We're going to have to watch that then."

Raven shrugged, "Okay." She'd gotten used to Alex making her watch movies. It was rather nice, really.

"Well this was a great Christmas Eve." Alex beamed as they began making there way back to the common room. "I can't wait to test the thing out."

"Yeah, you'd better wait until morning at least." Raven suggested, "I hear it goes pretty fast."

"One of the fastest." Alex smirked. "Thanks again."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you like it."

"I'd like anything that you'd give me, Raven." Alex said, before she began to blush as she realized what she said, "I mean, it's the thought that counts, after all."

_Nice save._

Before long they stopped right before the common room, about to part ways. "Huh." Alex said, looking above them.

Raven, curious at what Alex saw, looked up herself. She saw some mistletoe dangling above the door...right over both their heads. She looked back down at Alex, who was blushing. "I thought we told Beast Boy not to-"

And the next thing she knew, she felt soft, warm lips on her own. It only lasted a fraction of a second, and then it was over. "Merry Christmas, Raven." Alex mumbled, before she started to dash into the common room. Raven stopped her by grabbing her by her elbow, and pulled her into another kiss that lasted a few moments longer. It was innocent, just a peck on the lips, but somehow it meant much more to the both of them. Alex finally regained her senses and pulled away, before she looked at Raven confusedly. After Raven didn't say anything, or even _move_ for that matter, Alex finally dashed into the common room. The door promptly shut, and it took all of one minute of Raven standing there, with her hand to her lips to figure out what happened. A moment later, her emotions got the better of her and a black aura caused a giant crack in the wall. She quickly made her way to her room to meditate.

XXX

Christmas went and passed; it had nearly been two weeks since the date. Both girls barely made eye contact with the other in that time.

It didn't take long for the others to notice something was going on.

"So, what's up with you and Rae?" Beast Boy asked Alex one day as they sat on the couch.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked, playing dumb.

"Oh, come on. You two barely talk anymore, let alone _look_ at one another. Did you get in a fight or something?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Alex lied, "Don't worry about it."

"Whatever, it's your problem..."

"There's no problem." she insisted.

"Okay." Beast Boy sing-songed. "Whatever it is, you should just talk to her about it."

"Beast Boy-"

"Becca agrees with me, you know. So does everyone else."

"Maybe everyone should _mind their own business_."

Beast Boy simply snorted, dropping the subject, which left Alex to her own thoughts.

She really had no idea what she was thinking, kissing Raven like that on Christmas Eve. It was stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

But then, why did Raven kiss her back? Was it heat of the moment? What did any of it mean? It was all so confusing.

She honestly felt like she was about to cry just thinking about it, so she decided to leave the room and find some silence for her thoughts.

XXX

Raven stood on the roof, looking over the city as she thought about her kiss with Alex. It was all she could do lately. As she thought about it though, she was able to process what and why it had happened.

She heard the door open and turned around to see Alex as she entered the roof, clearly surprised by Raven's presence.

Alex was about to turn around and leave, before she thought better of it.

It was time to talk this out. She'd already risked herself with that kiss, and spent the last two weeks in a horrible state because she didn't know what was going through Raven's head. It was time to get it all out.

"Raven...can we talk?" Alex asked, clearly nervous.

"Sure. About what?"

"You know what about." Alex said, looking away. "I can't stand this anymore."

"What?" Raven asked, clearly confused.

"This..." Alex said, motioning between the two of them, "Us, not talking. This thing I've been holding in for so long...I don't think I can hold it in anymore."

"Alex-"

"No, I mean-please, just let me say this." Alex started, not really sure how to say what was on her mind, "I've liked you as more than a friend for a while now...a lot more than a friend. You're simply amazing."

Raven stared into Alex's eyes as she confessed, and saw the truth that was there. She turned her head to the side, "Alex...I'm sorry."

"What?" Alex's voice cracked, "Why?"

"I don't feel the same way."

Alex's heart shattered. "But..." She began, "What about Christmas Eve? You kissed me too!"

"I've had time to think about that. I must have been channeling onto your feelings." That's what made sense. She must have been channeling onto Alex's feelings the whole time.

"Is that what you really believe?" Alex asked, closed to tears. No, she would be strong.

"Yes, it is."

"I-" She was cut off by the blaring sound of the Titan's alarm. It was even louder on the roof, if that were possible.

"We should see what the trouble is." Raven said.

Alex shook her head angrily, "Yeah, I guess so."

Raven teleported the both of them to the common room, and Alex noticed that it was the first time she didn't grab her hand first. Her heart was really broken.

"Who is it?" Raven asked.

"Cavallo." Robin answered. "You ready for this Alex?"

"Yeah." Alex said sullenly. Great. Just what she needed at the moment.

XXX

They made it to the same hospital where Alex had first learned Cavallo's true identity. Standing outside, they saw him with a few Slade bots.

As soon as the Titans and Alex were in range, he said, "I'm giving you one last chance, Alex. Come with me, and I promise not to kill your friends."

"I'm not in the mood today, John." Alex growled.

They could hear him smirk behind his mask, "Okay, I was lying about not killing them anyway." He said before he launched an onslaught of Slade bots to attack them all. Alex went straight for her brother.

As soon as she got up to him, she threw a punch, which he easily dodged, "Ooh, aren't we in a bad mood today?" He asked. She then threw a kick at his legs, that connected. He fell to the floor, and she instantly connected another punch to his jaw, making his mask fly off. He laughed. "Wow, you really are in a bad mood. Jesus, what happened, and why wasn't I there to witness it?"

"Shut up and fight me!" Alex demanded, kicking him in the gut.

He smirked, "If that's what you really want." He said, immediately getting up and throwing an electricity-filled punch her way. It connected with her jaw, causing her to become dizzy.

"There are too many!" Beast Boy shouted as he got rid of one of the Slade bots. For every one he destroyed, two more took its place.

John immediately connected another punch to her gut, making Alex kneel over. She tried punching him in the jaw again, but he easily dodged. "What's the matter, I thought you wanted to fight."

"Starfire!" She heard Robin call, and she turned around to see Starfire passed out on the ground, with Robin on his way to rescue her. The next thing she knew, She saw Beast Boy on the ground as well, followed by Cyborg and Robin. Seconds later, Alex felt a sharp blow to her head, and the last thing she saw before she passed out was Raven falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Raven..." Alex reached out her hand, before everything faded black.

* * *

><em>Song: Bulletproof Love by Pierce The Veil<em>

_Anyway, as promised I'll explain why I haven't been updating._

_Okay, what happened at first was my beta reader's computer broke, and wasn't able to give me my chapter back, so I was afraid to update without having anyone go over my work. Then, I decided to update without it, but then I reread the chapter and was like "Wow, what the hell is this..." So I had to re-write the whole thing. Oh, and I got a new computer that doesn't have Microsoft Word so I'm kind of waiting on that, too. lol_

_So that's why it's been like a month :( sorry! I'll try and update sooner. It definitely wont take as long for the next chapter, I promise._

_Anyway, review please? Tell me whatcha think. :)  
><em>


	18. I'll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart

_Thanks to all mah reviewers and readers!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. _

_If I did...well, you know._

__

* * *

><p><p>

**I'll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart in the Clouds**

Alex awoke in what looked like the inside of a warehouse with a splitting headache. The moment she tried to move, she realized her wrists were strapped, forearms up, to the chair she was in. She also noticed a needle poking into her forearm, where some sort of substance was making its way into her bloodstream. She immediately tried to phase out of the contraption, only for her headache to pound with a new force. She cried out in pain.

"Well, it's about time you're up." She heard John call. "We were about to start the party without you."

Alex looked at him menacingly, until she heard her name called from the side.

"Alex, are you alright?" Raven asked. Alex turned her head to see Raven in what looked like a plastic cell with four walls and a roof, even a floor. As she looked around, she noticed that all the Titans had their own cells, and she fleetingly wondered why none of them had escaped yet. Then she noticed one of the cells were empty.

"Where's Beast Boy?" Alex asked, worried.

"Don't worry, he's still there." John answered with a grin, his mask still off, "He's been trying to find a way out of there since he woke up." Right after the words left John's mouth, Beast Boy morphed back into himself before morphing into a giant ape and slamming his fists against the wall. "I've tried telling him it's no use, but he hasn't listened." At Alex's look, he continued with a smirk, "Yeah, you must be confused. Nothing new, I guess. You see, I've picked up a few things along the way. These nice little boxes," He said, tapping on the one Raven was held in, "Are practically impenetrable. You're blue friend here can't even teleport out, because it's got some voodoo on it. And I've seen her try."

Alex narrowed her eyes at her brother as he continued, "But it's not them you should be worried about, at the moment. You're going to die first." His smirk turned into a wicked grin.

"So what, you're going to steal my power and I'll assumingly die in the process?" Alex asked, head down.

"That would be the basic idea."

She lifted her head up, determination set in her eyes, "You won't get away with this."

John snorted, "If you haven't noticed, I already kind of have. I've won."

"I don't see any of us dead yet." Alex challenged.

"Well, the fun's just getting started." John assured with his wicked grin firm in place. "Besides, I caught all of you didn't I? You're all stuck here, aren't you? You aren't going anywhere. This was all my brilliant plan."

"Brilliant? All you did was outnumber us. And now you have us in cages, because you're too afraid to fight us yourself." Raven challenged.

John scowled, "Nonsense, I have you all where you are because otherwise, you'd try to escape."

"I suppose that applies to Alex as well."

John's scowl quickly turned into a chuckle, "I'm not worried about Alex."

"Then why are you pumping _drugs_ into her?"

"I need them for the process to work." John started narrowing his eyes at Raven. He was beginning to not like her.

"Dammit!" Robin said, slamming his fist against the wall as he began losing his patience, "Where's Slade!"

John rolled his eyes and motioned to a security camera in the corner of the room, "He's watching, don't worry."

Robin stared into the camera, "Slade! Show yourself!"

"Won't work." John shrugged, "He isn't showing up until I finish with Alex here. Then I imagine you're all going to die, as well."

"Why are you working for him?" Alex managed to ask.

"Actually, Alex, that's an easy one. We have a good deal going. He helps me find all of our family with powers, and I help him capture the Titans. So far, it's working out pretty well, wouldn't you say?" He smirked.

"How long have you been his lacky?" Robin demanded.

John sharply turned his head to Robin, "That doesn't concern you." He said before turning back to Alex and looking her over, "Yeah, I'd say it's about time."

"Time for _what_?" Raven asked.

John snorted, "What do you think? It's time for the fun to begin, of course!"

"You mean we weren't having fun yet?" Beast Boy asked.

"Oh, now the comedian of the group decides to speak up. You know, I never thought you were very funny." John said as he started to put another needle into Alex's forearm, making her flinch.

"I'm really starting to hate needles..." She mumbled.

"That's funny, I find them quite useful." John said as her blood started flowing through the tube into the unit, "And the fun begins."

"That's it?" Alex asked, somewhat unimpressed.

"For now." John answered. "You don't seem to understand, the combination of the drugs that are pumping into you as well as blood loss..." He trailed off, grinning.

"Let her go." Raven said, voice almost shaking. She felt so damn _helpless_, it was driving her insane.

"You're not in the position to make any demands, are you?" John asked lightly.

"She doesn't deserve this!" Raven yelled, "She's your sister!"

"You're right, she doesn't deserve her _power._ Who knows why she has it, but I'm going to correct that mistake."

"She's more deserving than you are."

John nearly growled, "That's not true! I'm smarter and stronger! I am better than her!" He yelled, losing his temper.

"No you aren't, she-" Raven began, only to be cut off.

"Raven." Alex interrupted.

Raven's attention immediately turned to her friend, "Alex?"

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I should have kept it to myself." Alex said as John replaced the full unit of blood with an empty unit, ready to be filled.

"Wha-don't. It's okay." Raven said.

"No, it isn't...I'm already starting to feel tired," Alex said, lifting her head up to look at Raven. Raven could see just how pale her face was. "Just...promise me you'll get out of here okay?"

"We're _all_ getting out of here." Raven assured. Her heart felt like it was sinking, seeing Alex in such a state. It was as if she'd already given up.

"Aw, are you two having a moment?" John asked in mock caring. "I never would have imagined that you two were close. So much for what magazines tell you." After a moment of silence he cocked his head to the side. "Actually, this could be fun..." He mumbled, mostly to himself. Only Alex could hear him.

"What are you thinking, John?" Alex asked, worried.

"Oh, nothing." John said with his signature grin as he trailed his way over to a console Alex had just barely noticed. "This is just a test."

"John, what are you-"

Suddenly he turned a knob on the console, and Alex heard a harsh screaming to her right. Much to her horror, when she turned her head, she saw what looked like Raven being electrocuted as a form of electricity came down from the ceiling of her cell.

"Stop it!" Alex screamed. John just laughed as he turned the knob again, and the horror stopped. Raven fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"So I was right, you _do _care about her." John's eyes glimmered at his new find.

"Of course I do! What's wrong with you?" Alex demanded, trying to wiggle free from her restraints.

John just smirked, turning the knob again.

Raven screamed aloud as she felt the electricity flow through her body.

"John! That's enough! Stop it!" Alex yelled, to no avail. John continued laughing as Raven screamed.

Alex looked on helpless as Raven's body finally went limp and she fell to the floor. _"Raven_!" The Titans and Alex called out in unison.

"Uh oh." John said as he walked up to her cell, peering inside, before shrugging. "Oh well. I don't think Slade will be _too_ mad that I killed one. After all, he still has four to play with."

Alex shook uncontrollably as she looked at Raven while she lay on the floor. She couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be.

Her eyes switched from Raven to John, who was now in the process of switching out another unit of blood. Alex couldn't control her anger; she was seeing red as she stared at her brother's grin.

"I can't believe you..." Alex began, voice low.

"Me?" John asked, "Have you ever considered that this is your fault? Everyone around you seems to die."

"No...It's your fault..." Alex said, concentrating on her wrists as she tried again to phase through the straps holding her to the chair. It hurt, but that didn't matter anymore. Her anger was taking over her senses. Finally, she phased her left arm through. With her free arm she undid the bonds of the other strap, then pulled out the needles in her arm.

"Hm." John said as his back was turned to Alex, "The blood stopped flowing...strange." He said, turning around, only to come face to face with Alex. "Wha-how did you-!"

Alex punched him square in the jaw, knocking him off balance. She immediately followed that up with a punch in the gut. She wasn't at her strongest, but she let her rage take over her body.

"I can't believe you did this!" She shouted as John got up.

"How did you get out? That's impossible!" John exclaimed. Alex tried to kick him back down, but he caught her foot. As she tried to phase through him, her headache came back full force. She cried out in pain, falling to the floor.

John smirked, "I thought so." He said, kicking her in the gut. Alex lifted up her arm to protect herself as he continued his onslaught of kicks. It didn't take long before there a snap was heard and Alex cried out in pain, rolling to her other side.

"Alex!" Cyborg cried out.

"Aw, break your arm, did we?" John asked in mock concern. He knelt down next to Alex as tears of rage and frustration started to pour from her eyes. He snorted, "Pathetic."

Alex managed to look over at Ravens unmoving form, her tears falling freely now. She looked back up at John, who seemed to be rambling on about something, her anger renewing.

"...If you'd have just listened to me in the-" John was interrupted as his feet were kicked out from under him. He landed right next to Alex, who was already kneeling, cradling her broken left arm. While John started to get up, he suddenly felt an unbearable pain in his chest. His breath came in short gasps as he tried to breathe.

Looking down, he saw Alex's arm phased through chest. That didn't make any sense at all. He looked back up at Alex, whose face was contorted in rage. He tried to claw at her arm, but his hands just phased through.

"You aren't in the position to say anything." Alex spat out, "So why don't you take the opportunity to listen."

John tried to say something, but he felt incomprehensible pain in his chest.

Alex began lowly, "You're a menace to society, and you've killed everyone I love. Things could have been different, John. I don't know why you wanted to do this, but it's too late now. I can't let you get away with what you've done."

John suddenly peered up to the surveillance camera in the corner of the room. Alex followed his eyes, before smirking.

"What's that, John? Slade's not coming to rescue you? Maybe it's because he knows how _worthless_ you really are."

Much to Alex's surprise, John started laughing weakly. It hurt; _god,_ did it hurt, but he just couldn't help himself.

"Well," He managed to say, "If I'm going down, I'm sure as hell taking you with me."

XXX

It was strange, Raven could hear what was going on...but she couldn't _do _anything about it.

And god, was her body sore.

She supposed that was a good thing, she didn't think she would be in any pain if she were dead.

She had heard Alex escape, and silently plead that she would just leave. But of course she didn't, because if she did then she wouldn't have been Alex.

It didn't take long for Raven to hear a bone snap. She knew it was Alex's, she heard Cyborg call out her name.

"_You've killed everyone I love..." _ Alex said, "_I can't let you get away with what you've done."_

Then John laughed, "_Well, if I'm going down, I'm sure as hell taking you with me._"

_No..._Raven thought. She couldn't let that happen. Why couldn't she _move_? She had to open her eyes.

The next thing she heard scared the life out of her. Both Alex and John were screaming in pain at the top of their lungs.

Raven had to know what was going on, so she willed her body to move. First she opened her eyes slowly. Why was it so bright? It didn't matter. Secondly she moved her hands, then her arms, and eventually she was able to move her entire body to get up from the floor.

What she saw almost made her wish she were still unconscious.

Alex had her hand penetrating in John's chest, while John had both his hands on her shoulders, electrocuting her.

"Alex!" Raven cried out, helpless. Alex continued screaming out in pain.

Raven couldn't take the sight anymore, "Alex! No!" Soon Raven couldn't control her emotions, and her eyes turned white as a powerful black aura began emitting around her. The aura immediately attacked the cell wall, instantly causing it to crack. Raven saw this and continued attacking it, both with magic and her hands.

Eventually the cell wall broke, leaving her room to get through.

She was too late. Alex was already lying limp on the floor, while John was coughing up blood and trying to crawl away. Raven immediately went to Alex's side.

"Alex!" Raven said as she reached her side, "Alex, come on, wake up." She said as she knelt down by her side.

"Is she okay?" Beast Boy asked.

"She isn't breathing." Raven choked out, shaking. The only thing she could think to do was CPR.

After a few moments, Raven was near tears. It wasn't working. But she wasn't going to give up.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Alex began coughing harshly before she took a deep breath. Relieved beyond belief, Raven immediately began hugging her friend.

"Ow..." Alex managed.

"You're okay." Raven said in relief.

"Raven, get us out of here." Robin ordered. Raven didn't want to leave Alex's side, but she knew she had to let them out.

"Hold on." Raven said, gently letting Alex's head down as she got up and headed over to the console. One by one the cell walls opened.

Robin was the first to speak, "Beast Boy, Starfire, you're with me. We're going to find Slade. Cyborg, Raven, you make sure Alex is okay and take care of Cavallo."

He didn't even have to say it; Raven was already back at Alex's side, healing her arm. Cyborg was walking up to John, who was still trying to crawl away. "I got 'em." Cyborg said in disgust.

Soon after Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy went searching the rest of the warehouse for Slade.

John chuckled weakly, "They won't find him."

Cyborg ignored John, "She needs to go back to the Tower where the right equipment is." He said to Raven.

"I can't just leave you-"

"Go, its okay. Take care of your girl." Cyborg said. Raven nodded and teleported her and Alex to the medical wing of the Tower.

XXX

**A few weeks later...**

Raven lay in her bed, hugging a pillow tightly as she stared at the wall in front of her.

There was a knock at her door, but she ignored it.

"Raven," She heard Robin call from behind the door, "It's time to go." No response, she just continued to look ahead of her. "Look..." He began, "I know you don't want to do this, but it's our responsibility."

Raven nearly scoffed at that, but none the less eventually got up.

It didn't take long for them to get to their destination, but the car ride was met with a tense, awkward silence.

As soon as they parked, Raven got out and if it weren't for Robin's strong hand on her shoulder guiding her as she walked, she probably would have fled the scene.

The Titans walked onto the set and were immediately greeted by the _one _guy Raven honestly didn't want to talk to at the moment. Or ever, really.

"Welcome!" Chad greeted, "It's so nice to have you all here once again."

"Thanks." Robin said, shaking the older man's hand, "It's nice to be here."

Chad looked over the Titans, "I'm sorry about the absence of your friend." Raven thought it sounded like he wasn't sorry at all.

"That's why we're here. To clear everything up once and for all." Robin answered. Again, Raven nearly scoffed. What were they going to clear up? They barely had any answers themselves.

"Well, if you'd all come this way, we can get started." Chad said, leading them to their seats on set. Raven took the one farthest from him, turning her head away from everyone. She barely paid any attention as the show started and Chad began, "Hey there everyone, I'm Chad Williams and this is the _Chad Williams Hour_. We're here live with the Teen Titans, who I'm very excited to have as guests today."

"Thanks, Chad; we're glad we could be here." Robin said.

Chad nodded, "So I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed, but someone in the group seems to be missing."

The same tense silence that had filled the T-car earlier came back, "Yes," Robin answered sullenly, "There is."

"So, if I may, I'm just going to go ahead and jump right in. I'm sure the viewers at home are just as curious as I am." Chad said, crossing his legs, "What happened to Alex?"

Raven stiffened at the mere mentioning of her name. The Titans had eventually learned not to say her name out loud around her.

"She...just decided to leave," Robin said, with a half shrug.

"Why?" Chad asked.

"We..." Starfire began, not sure what to say, "We are not exactly sure. But it is her choice. She was here under her own will."

"So she was just here one day, gone the next? No warning?"

"Nope." Beast Boy answered sullenly "She just...left."

"Not even a note." Cyborg added.

Chad shook his head, "And do you have any idea where she went?"

"No. And I guess she wants it that way." Robin answered.

"Hmm." Chad said, "That's interesting. It certainly says something about her character."

"We weren't keeping her here," Robin defended, "Like Starfire said, it was her choice."

Chad nodded in understanding before asking, "Well, let's say Alex were watching right now. What would you want to say to her?"

"That she's welcome back anytime." Robin answered wholeheartedly.

"And that we are missing her very much." Starfire added.

"It doesn't feel the same without her." Cyborg said. Beast Boy nodded in agreement.

Raven still had her head turned away, but found herself replying quietly, "I'm sorry."

The rest of the Titans as well as Chad looked at Raven curiously. The Titans we're particularly surprised seeing as since Alex's departure, she'd barely said a word. Raven also wasn't ever one to apologize.

"Excuse me?" Chad asked.

"I'm sorry." Raven repeated a little louder, her voice sounding tired, sad, and even a little angry, "I'd do anything to take back what I said...I didn't mean it...please, just come back."

The Titans all sat wide-eyed as they looked at Raven; she also was never one to say 'please'.

"What are you talking about?" Chad asked. Raven just kept her face turned away, clearly done speaking. "Uhh...well, I guess it's time for a break, we'll be right back." He finished, looking into the cameras.

"Oh, thank god. I have to pee _so _bad!" Beast Boy exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and running to the nearest bathroom. Chad got up and walked around the set, talking to a man behind the cameras.

Raven continued sitting; she knew if she got up she'd feel the need to just run away.

"You know, it might be just me, but you made it pretty obvious just now." Cyborg said, catching Raven off guard.

"Hm?" Raven asked. That was the usual reply from Raven as of late.

"That you like her...maybe even _love_."

Raven wasn't even surprised that Cyborg knew. She didn't care if everybody knew. She just wanted Alex back. She shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

"Why not?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"Because she isn't here." Raven answered in disdain.

"Well, how can you fix that?"

Raven finally looked up at Cyborg, half interested and half confused, "What do you mean?"

"If _she_ isn't _here…_" Cyborg trailed off. Raven didn't seem to get it. Cyborg sighed, "Look, Raven, just...stop thinking, alright? What does your _heart_ want?"

Raven nearly sighed. It was hard for her to just listen to her heart. She was always logical, it was impossible _not _to think.

But...she knew her heart ached. It ached for Alex. She wanted to be near her, to hold her.

Raven suddenly stood up, knowing what she had to do. She looked at Robin, who had been listening in on the whole conversation. She didn't _need _his permission, but still, as a friend, she would appreciate the approval.

Robin smiled, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"I wish you good luck on your journey." Starfire said, getting up and hugging Raven lightly.

"Thanks." Raven said, and as soon as the hug was released, she was gone in a black aura.

A few moments later Beast Boy and Chad sat back in their seats.

"And welcome back everybody." Chad said into the cameras, "For those of you just tuning in, we were talking about the disappearance of Alex."

"Wait." Beast Boy said, looking around confusedly, "Where'd Raven go?"

"Oh, she went to go look for Alex." Cyborg answered, smirking.

"_What_!" Beast Boy exclaimed, "Man, why do i always have to miss everything?"

Chad looked at the Titans curiously, "So, Raven and Alex were close?"

"You have no idea." Robin answered with a smirk of his own.

* * *

><p><em>OHMYGOD! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update again D: -shame-<em>

_Everything is fixed now though, so it honestly shouldn't take me as long to update again. I might even update extra early to try and make up it._

_Also, sorry for the overall suckiness of this chapter. And how short it is. I'll also try to make up for it in the next chapter._

_Anyway...review? :3  
><em>


	19. Saviour

_Thanks to readers and reviewers :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans._

__

* * *

><strong>Saviour<strong>_  
><em>

Months.

It took months, but Raven had finally been able to track Alex down. During that time, she'd barely been able to sleep; all she could think about was finding Alex. And now she'd finally found the apartment she was staying in.

The trouble was, while she'd been thinking about finding Alex, she never thought about what she was going to do _afterword_.

So she was content with hiding around the corner.

That was, until a stranger with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, holding a bouquet of assorted flowers, passed her in the hallway. He looked at her strangely as he passed, before turning the corner and knocking on a door.

Raven noticed that it was _the _door. The door she'd been staring at for hours. She quickly hid back behind the corner. She heard an exchange of words between two men before the door shut, and a moment later, it reopened.

"What do you want, Tommy?"

Raven's breath hitched in her throat.

She never thought she'd miss Alex's voice so _much_.

"I brought you some flowers." The boy said, "And it's Tom now. Stop making me remind you." He chuckled.

"Yeah, well, you'll always be little Tommy to me." Alex said.

Tom rolled his eyes, "You can call me whatever you want, if you go out on a date with me." He tried.

"Nice try; I said no. Give up, please."

"Why not? It's not like you're doing anything else."

"I have to watch Mikey."

"But _Dan's _home. So is Stacey, I can hear her. What are you, some sort of unpaid 24 hour babysitting service?"

"You could say that."

"_Alex_-"

"Tommy, I mean it. Stop asking, okay?"

Tom sighed, "You're a tough one, Alex...I like that." He smiled.

"Well, if all's good and well, I'm shutting the door in your face now."

"Wai-!" Too late, the door slammed shut. Tommy shook his head, chuckling as he began to walk away.

As he turned the corner he saw that same strange girl in a blue cloak. Was it just him, or was she giving him the evil eye?

"Freak..." He mumbled as he passed. A moment later, the flowers in his hand exploded in every direction after being surrounded by a black aura, causing him to jump in shock. "What the hell?" He asked, looking around. When he found no visible source of what happened, he continued down the hall, mumbling incomprehensible words to himself.

Raven slowly stepped out from around the corner, making her way to the door. It was now or never. Every step she took closer was agonizing; her heart felt like it was going to leap out of her chest.

When she finally made it to the door, she promptly lifted her hand, and knocked on the door.

A second later, the door flew open, "Tommy, I told you-" Alex stopped dead in her tracks. It wasn't Tommy at the door. She couldn't even bring herself to say anything, she was so stunned.

Raven just stood there, looking into Alex's eyes. She couldn't believe she'd finally found her. Alex stared back, unbelieving that Raven was actually there.

"Uh..." She called behind her, "I'll be back." She said before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her.

The two continued to look at each other without saying a word. Alex looked at Raven confusedly, while Raven stared at Alex analytically.

Before she could stop herself, Raven whipped her hand up and slapped Alex as hard as she could across the face, ruining the silence that had accumulated between them.

Alex, surprised by the action, kept her head turned away. She couldn't bring herself to look in Raven's eyes. A few tears had sprung to her eyes, but it wasn't from physical pain.

"Is that all you came here for?" She managed to ask, clenching her teeth. After Raven didn't answer, Alex turned her head to look at the other girl, "_Well_?" She demanded.

"How could you just leave like that?" Raven demanded

Alex nearly scoffed as she leaned against the door. "Like you really don't know."

"I want you to_ tell_ me."

Alex opened her mouth as if she were about to say something when the door behind her suddenly swung door that she was currently leaning against. As Alex began falling backwards, she grabbed on to Raven to try and steady herself.

However, her plan failed as Raven just began falling with her.

Both girls fell to the floor inside the apartment, barely able to keep themselves from bumping their heads into one another. However, Alex still hit her head on the floor.

"Ow!" She cried out, looking up at the culprit who opened the door, "You did that on purpose!"

"What—I didn't do anything!" A tall man with brown hair said, "What were you doing leaning against the door like that, anyway? And who's this?"

"I-_none of your business._" Alex said, as Raven got up and then helped her.

"Who, what? What happened? I heard a crash." A girl with jet black hair in a loose ponytail came running up behind the tall man and asked.

"Alex and her friend here fell."

"Dan did it on purpose." Alex said, pointing an accusatory finger.

"I did not! How was I supposed to know you were leaning against the door!"

"Stacey, please control your husband."

Stacey rolled her eyes. "Who's this?" She asked, trying to avoid yet another argument between Alex and Dan.

"Oh. Stacey, Dan, this is Raven. She's my...uh..." Alex wasn't exactly sure what to label her as, so she just trailed off, "Yeah..."

Stacey looked at Alex curiously at the obviously botched introduction, but none the less turned to Raven, "It's nice to meet you."

"What's with the get-up?" Dan whispered to Stacey, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Raven's face fell.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?..." She asked.

"Nothing." Alex assured, "Dan is just a douche. Please ignore him. All the time."

"Yeah, I let you live under _my _roof and I'm a douche."

"It's our roof, honey." Stacey corrected. Dan sighed. "Anyway, any friend of Alex's is a friend of ours." Stacey said, looking over Raven. There was just something about her that seemed familiar...

Dan scoffed, "I didn't know Alex _had_ friends."

"I'm perfectly capable of making friends." Alex defended.

"Yeah I'm sure that's why-"

"_Enough!"_ Stacey cried out, holding up her hands between the two, "Seriously, with all the arguing you guys do, I feel like I have to take care of _three_ kids."

"He started it," Alex said at the same time Dan said, "She started it."

Raven looked between the three incredulously. She felt like she didn't have time for this, she'd just spent months looking for Alex. And all she wanted to do was be around _Alex. _"Actually," She interrupted Dan from saying some sort of retort, "Alex and I need to talk."

"Oh! Sure, no problem. We'll leave you two alone, don't worry." Stacey said, dragging Dan down the hall with her, and finally around the corner.

Alex just stood there awkwardly, not really sure what to say, "So..." When Raven just kept silent, Alex continued, "You wanted to talk?"

Raven wasn't completely sure on what to say. She could just be blunt, and come right out and say what she felt, but she immediately threw that out. They were both already in enough shock just by seeing each other. On the other hand, Raven didn't really know how to be subtle either.

However, before she even had the chance to say anything, Stacey came zooming around the corner, "I know who you are!" She exclaimed excitedly, pointing at Raven. Alex and Raven just stared at her incredulously as she continued, "You're Raven! From the Teen Titans! I _knew_ you looked familiar."

Alex sighed, not happy about the revelation. "Yes, Stacey, she's a Titan." Alex said, throwing her hands up into the air in false excitement, "Woohoo for you for figuring it out."

"Hey, no need to be so sarcastic. The Teen Titans are all the way in Jump City, it's no wonder it took me this long to figure it out."

Raven just looked at Alex questioningly, "This is more of a Batman town." Alex explained.

"Actually, I was reading in some magazine about how you left right in the middle of a TV interview to look for some guy named Alex because you obviously love hi—..." Stacey stopped herself as she realized what she was saying, and looked between Alex and Raven. "Oh."

Raven just stood there awkwardly while Alex looked at her curiously, "You left in the middle of an interview?" Alex asked, with a hint of a smirk.

"Yeah..."

Stacey's eyes widened, complete realization dawning on her, "_Oh_. Uhh...I'll just...leave you two alone now..." She said awkwardly, backing up until she finally turned around and dashed around the corner.

Alex continued to look at Raven with a hint of a smirk, and it eventually began to intimidate her.

"You know how much I dislike Chad, anyway."

"Mhmm." Alex said, crossing her arms, still with that same look.

Raven couldn't look her in the eyes, so she was content with looking at the wall behind Alex. It took a while, but eventually the silence that accumulated between them also began to intimidate Raven. She wasn't used to this kind of situation.

"I...wanted to find you." She conceded.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"Your friend already said it..."

"I want _you _to say it."

"_Oh!"_ They suddenly heard Dan say from around the corner, "You mean they're _gay?_"

"Shh!" Stacey said, trying to hush her husband, "They'll hear you!"

Alex face-palmed, while Raven just put her hood on to hide her blush.

"Maybe...this isn't' the best place to talk about this." Alex said. Raven nodded in agreement, "Stacey, we're leaving. Be back later." Alex called.

"Where are you going?" Dan asked.

"_Out._"

"Okay, be back before dark." Stacey ordered lightly.

Alex rolled her eyes, "You don't have to worry about me, I have a _Teen Titan_ to protect me.

"Even so, before dark."

"Yes, ma'am." Alex sighed, walking out the door with Raven.

As soon as they made it to the sidewalk, Raven asked, "They don't know you can take care of yourself?"

Alex shrugged, "Kind of. Stacey was my martial arts instructor, but I didn't tell anyone about my power or anything like that. She's just being protective, I guess."

"Why won't you tell anyone about your power?"

"Well, aside from the potential bad reaction I might get, it would lead to questions. You know how I don't like questions."

Raven nodded, but none the less asked, "What kind of questions do you think people would ask?"

Alex shrugged again, "I don't really know; probably about what I was doing the whole time I was gone. Then, of course, I'd end up thinking about what happened with John..." Alex said, before mumbling, "And you."

Raven let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, "I couldn't stop thinking about you." She conceded.

Alex looked over at Raven, surprised by the statement. "Honestly…me either."

"Then why didn't you come back?" Raven asked, hurt evident in her voice.

Alex scoffed somewhat bitterly, "With everything that happened...I just couldn't. John was right, Raven, I'm not hero material. Not to mention you made your feelings pretty clear..."

"Hey," Raven said, stopping and reaching for Alex's hand, "You know John's wrong. You're a hero to a lot of people." She said before realizing exactly where they were. She raised an amused brow, "You took us to a park?"

"Um, only the best park ever." Alex said, tugging Raven to the playground. "Remember that one time I told you about how I used to go to a park every time I was upset? Well, here we are." She smiled, sitting on a bench.

Raven sat down next to her, "So this is kind of like _your_ quiet place."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I come here to think and stuff. Usually no one comes around here."

"Thanks for bringing me to it."

Alex shrugged, "I figured I might as well return the favor." She said lightly. She hesitated before continuing, "So…you literally left in the middle of an interview with Chad Williams to find me?"

Raven simply nodded.

"_Why_?"

"Because I need you know something." Raven answered

When it was clear Raven wasn't going to continue, Alex couldn't help but ask, "What?" Her heart was beating loudly in her chest. Raven just had that effect on her.

Raven also felt her heart thumping in her chest as she finally confessed, "That day on the roof…before everything happened…" She began slowly, unable to look at Alex, before her words became rushed with anxiety, "I didn't mean any of it. I…was just…scared. Which is new to me. You make everything new to me. I've never felt this way before. It scared me; I'm not…supposed to feel. But I can't remember ever being as happy as the times we've spent together. As happy as I am just…being with you right now."

Alex watched Raven as the words rushed out of her mouth; it was obvious she was nervous. She'd never seen Raven in such a state before.

But her heart was melting with every word that she said.

"And I just…needed you to know that." Raven finished, still looking down. She couldn't bring herself to look at Alex, she was too afraid of her reaction.

Alex noticed a tear fall to the ground as Raven suddenly sniffled. Alex immediately reached over and turned Raven's head to face her; though Raven still couldn't look her in the eye. Alex saw another tear roll town Raven's cheek.

"Why are you crying?" Alex asked lightly, concerned.

"I…I don't even know." Raven replied with a breath of a laugh before she continued, "This is what you do to me."

"I make you cry?"

"No, you make me feel the way I've never felt before."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Alex asked, hand still placed on Raven's cheek as she lightly wiped away another tear with her thumb.

"It's good." Raven said, finally looking Alex in the eye, "Strange, new, and a little frightening…but good."

Raven was _trying_ to keep her emotions in check, but just being around Alex and finally saying everything out loud…she couldn't stop herself. A small burst of black aura formed around some monkey bars that were on the playground, causing them to twist and distort. Raven jerked her head away from Alex's grasp, embarrassed.

Alex noticed the monkey bars, and then realized the inner commotion that Raven must have been enduring at that moment. She also figured that because of her magical outburst, everything that she was saying had to be true. Alex felt her heart jump in her chest.

"Raven," Alex called, her excitement and hope growing, "Look at me, please." Raven slowly turned to face Alex, and the first thing she noticed was that she was smiling. It wasn't a cruel smile, but kind, and genuine. "I feel _exactly _the same. It's amazing how you put it all into words like that. _You're _amazing."

Raven looked Alex in the eyes and saw the truth in them, her own hope beginning to grow. "You aren't angry at me?" she asked.

"What? No, of course not." Alex answered, "I was never angry, just hurt." At that, Raven looked back down, ashamed. "Hey, it's okay. None of that matters now."

Alex reached her hand over and gently turned Raven's head till she was facing her again. Raven still couldn't look her in the eye. Alex had never seen her like this; Raven was usually so calm and collected. It didn't matter to Alex, though. She actually thought it was pretty cute. She smiled, "You're so adorable." She breathed a laugh.

That statement honestly caught Raven off guard, but not as much as Alex's next action. She leaned over and pressed her lips against Raven's. It was soft, innocent, yet both girls' hearts were thumping erratically in their chests. Soon Alex licked the other girl's lips, asking for entrance. Raven quickly complied.

It shouldn't have surprised Raven that Alex tasted sweet, but it did. It was an incredible feeling that she thought she could never get enough of.

Alex felt the same; she slowly began to realize that she was going to become addicted to the taste of Raven. Somehow, she didn't care.

The kiss could have lasted an eternity and it still would have been too short for the two. But soon enough, Raven's emotions started getting the better of her and this time a swing was surrounded in a black aura before the chains broke apart.

At the sound of the chains breaking, Raven pulled away, albeit slowly. Alex barely even registered that there was a sound. But Raven looked away, ashamed and embarrassed again at her power.

Alex looked at the now torn apart swing, and smiled. "It's okay. I feel _exactly _the same."

Raven looked up at Alex and saw her genuine smile again, and couldn't help but smile herself. She leaned over and gave Alex a quick kiss. It didn't last nearly as long, but it got the message across.

Both girls couldn't help the giant smiles that crossed their faces.

"The others are going to be excited when we get back." Raven said, "They miss you."

Alex turned away as she realized what Raven was saying.

"What?" Raven asked, concerned.

"I'm…not going back, Raven. I can't."

"What do you mean?" Raven demanded.

"With everything with John—"

"He's in jail now. You don't have to worry about him."

"But I do. I mean, when I wasn't thinking about you, I was thinking about John and everything he said. He was right about me." Alex said.

Raven shook her head, unbelieving of what Alex was saying. It was like they were back to square one.

"He just said those things to get to you—clearly it worked. You're letting him win if you listen to him."

Alex sighed, looking at Raven, "It's not just that…it's the fact that I almost _killed _my own brother. What kind of hero does that?"

"You were trying to protect everyone."

Alex shook her head before saying lowly, "No. It was because I was so angry…" She clenched her jaw at the memory before continuing, "All I could think about was what he did to you. I thought you were _dead, _Raven. I wanted him to pay for that. Everyone must think I'm some sort of monster."

Raven put her hand on Alex's knee, "Of course not. If anyone else were in your position, the outcome would be the same."

Alex scoffed, "I doubt that."

"Alex, everything you did was understandable. And trust me when I say that everyone misses you."

Alex was silent for a long time before she finally conceded, "I miss them too…"

"Then come back."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"I can't just leave Dan and Stacey."

Raven couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Now you're just coming up with excuses. Alex, you know you belong with us. We're all a family, as dysfunctional as it may be."

Alex almost smiled, "You really think I'm a part of that?"

"Of course." Raven assured. "We can make it work. Please."

It wasn't as if Alex _didn't _want to go back. She just felt like she couldn't. Not with everything that had happened with John. But the second she looked over at Raven, her resolve crumbled. It was almost as if Raven had stolen Becca's pouting power, for her eyes were shining and it even looked like her lip was going to start quivering.

Alex held back a smile, "If I go, it's on one condition."

"What?" Raven asked, suddenly concerned.

"You have to agree to…be my girlfriend." Alex said, though even as the words left her mouth she was blushing a bright red.

Raven smirked, "What, does that make you the boy in this relationship?"

Alex couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Of course it's a yes." Raven said, grabbing Alex's hand, "Are you ready to go?"

"Not yet," Alex said as she stood up, "I think I owe Stacey and explanation."

Raven simply nodded, teleporting them back outside of the apartment door.

Alex was obviously surprised by the action, "Wow, or we could do that. And here I thought we were going to walk."

"This is faster." Raven smirked.

Alex laughed, "Clearly."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Raven asked.

Alex looked a little pretty nervous, but none the less replied, "Yeah." She said as she opened the door. "Stacey," She called as soon as she entered, "Can we talk?"

Stacey immediately appeared from around the corner, "Of course. What's up?"

"Well…I think you should be sitting down." Alex said, leading them into the living area, where Dan was already sitting and watching television.

"Dan, turn that off. Alex wants to say something." Stacey said.

"But it's Sunday football…"

"_Dan._" Stacey warned. Dan sighed and turned off the television, mumbling about how it better be important.

Raven was still holding Alex's hand as she stood in front of the couch where the husband and wife sat. Stacey had immediately taken notice to it, but kept her mouth shut.

"I think it's about time I come clean about a few things." Alex started, "And, well, first of all, yes, I did live with the Teen Titans for a while." She turned her head to face Raven, who smiled reassuringly, "And I can't remember a time I was happier." Then Alex looked back at the couple in front of her, "But then..."

"Yes?" Stacey couldn't help but ask after Alex trailed off.

"I found out that…I mean, I have to tell you…John is still alive." Alex finished, unable to look either of them in the eye.

"Wow." Dan said, "I thought this was going in a completely different direction."

"Dan!" Stacey chided, "Can't you be serious? This is big news!"

"I know. It's just…I thought this was going to be some giant coming out party or something…"

Stacey sighed, "We will talk about that _later," _She said, looking at Alex. Which Alex knew that the conversation would definitely come up. "But right now we're talking about this. How did you find him?" Stacey asked Alex.

"Well…that's also something I need to tell you…" Alex trailed off, before beginning her story. It was hard for her to keep going with all the questions and comments from Dan and Stacey, but Raven was by her side the whole time, helping her through it.

By the time she finished telling them everything, her and Raven were sitting on a chair adjacent to Dan and Stacey.

"Wow…" Stacey said, in shock about the whole thing, "I knew John was kind of a creep…but a full blown bad guy? I never would have guessed…"

"Are you _sure _it was him?" Dan asked.

"Yes." Alex snapped, already tired of all the questions, before she sighed, "Without a doubt. It's him."

"And you have a super power, huh?" Dan continued to ask. Alex just nodded, "Well? What is it?"

"I can, uh…walk through stuff. You know, intangibility?"

"Hm." Was all Dan offered.

"I am so sorry you had to go through all of that, Alex." Stacey said, "Where is he now? Jail?"

"Yeah." Raven nodded. It was the first time she spoke during the whole thing. "He won't be getting out any time soon."

Alex stood up, "So, yeah…I just wanted to tell you that before I left."

"Well, yeah. God, no wonder you were sulking all the time." Stacey said. Alex's face fell. Why did people always say she sulked?

"Isn't that what teenagers do? Act all…emo and angsty?" Dan asked.

"That's diff—wait." Stacey said, cutting herself off, "You're leaving?"

Alex cleared her throat nervously, "Well, yeah. I'm going back to the Teen Titans." She said, looking back at Raven, "Apparently they're family."

"Don't you consider _us_ family?" Stacey asked, a little hurt.

Alex sighed, "You know I'm grateful for you letting me stay. But…the tower is just...where I belong."

Stacey sighed as well, "I guess it's not like I can _stop_ you. Besides," She smiled, "I want you to be happy."

Alex smiled in turn, "Thanks."

"But! Before you go. Explain…." She trailed off, waving her hands towards Alex and Raven, "_This _to me."

"So _now _we're getting to the big coming out party." Dan said.

Alex and Raven both blushed.

Alex was embarrassed, but figured she might as well get the whole situation over with. "_Yes, _we're together."

"Since when?" Stacey asked.

"Uhh…about…a half hour ago?"

"How long have you liked each other?"

"A while." Alex immediately answered, "For me anyway."

"Me too." Raven said nervously.

"Psh," Dan started, "Teenagers. Always making everything so complicated. If you two liked each other for so long, why are you just now getting together?"

"Well, Dan, remember the two of us? We hated each other at first, and then finally admitted our real feelings." Stacey said.

"Oh, really? First I recall a night of _really _hot s—"

Stacey cleared her throat loudly. "_Anyway, _I'm happy for you two." She said, then looked over at Dan expectantly, but he just sat there. She roughly nudged his side.

"Oh, what? Yeah, me too." Dan said halfheartedly with a thumbs up, "Lesbians. Hot stuff."

Stacey rolled her eyes, while Alex resisted the urge to punch him.

"Though…" Dan continued, "This _does _explain why you kept turning Tom down…"

Alex made a sound of disgust, "He had no chance, regardless."

"Maybe if he were a _girl._" Dan mumbled.

"Stacey, I'm seriously about two seconds away from beating your husband."

"Please don't, I need him to help me take care of Mikey."

"_Mike._" Dan corrected.

"Well, I guess if you're leaving, this is goodbye?" Stacey asked, ignoring Dan.

"I'll come visit. You know I can't stay away from Mikey too long."

"_Mike!_" Dan corrected again. Alex ignored him and picked up her backpack, which was conveniently sitting near the couch.

"That's everything?" Raven asked, unbelieving.

"Yep." Alex answered. During her stay, she never ended up unpacking her things. She didn't have a room, anyway. She just slept on the couch, which she noted wasn't nearly as comfortable as the one at the tower.

"You're really leaving now?" Stacey asked.

Alex shrugged, "Looks like."

Stacey sighed and got up, catching Alex in a hug. "I'm going to miss having you around."

"I _said _I was going to visit." Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"It won't be the same." Stacey said before looking at Dan expectantly again.

Dan just shrugged, "Bye."

"_Dan!_" Stacey chided.

Dan sighed, but got up off the couch and walked over to Alex. "Stacey's right, it won't be the same without you around." He said, leaning in and giving Alex a heartfelt, albeit somewhat awkward hug. "And I hope you don't mind people knowing about you and your _girlfriend _here. Now that Stacey knows you can bet your ass she's going to tell everyone she knows." Dan said only low enough for Alex to hear.

Alex tried not to laugh as she rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know." She said as she let go of the embrace. "Well, I guess I'll see you guys later." She finished, before grabbing Raven's hand.

"Are you ready?" Raven asked lightly.

"Yeah." Alex nodded, both nervous and excited to be going back to the tower. What would everyone say to her? Would they be ashamed of her even despite what Raven said? Would they welcome her with open arms? She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Wait." Stacey said.

"_What_?" Alex asked, exasperated.

Stacey looked at Raven, almost staring her down, "Make sure you take care of her, okay? I may not be some super hero, but I can still be a pain in your ass."

Raven simply nodded, looking over at Alex as she tried to hold back a smile. Alex shrugged, "I told you she could be protective." Raven let her smile show.

"Okay, are we ready now?" She asked.

"Yep." Alex said before a smile of her own broke out, "Beam us up, Scotty."

Raven rolled her eyes, but they quickly were enveloped in a black aura, and the next thing Stacey and Dan knew, they were gone.

"Well, I have to admit, that was pretty cool." Dan said.

XXX

Alex quickly found herself inside the common room of the Titans Tower. It looked exactly like she remembered.

The first thing she noticed was Beast Boy on the couch, playing a video game. She smiled at the sight.

"God, Beast Boy, it's been like, what, five months and you _still _can't beat that game?"

Beast Boy paused the game. Was he hearing things? He quickly craned his neck to look behind him, and sure enough, Raven was there. Accompanied by _Alex. _Raven was simply smiling while Alex looked at him, smirking.

"Alex!" Beast Boy exclaimed, immediately jumping from the couch and almost tripping over himself. He ran over to her and instantly wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "You're back!"

Alex laughed as she returned the hug, "Yeah. I'm back. How have you been?"

"How have I _been_?" He asked, "Miserable without you sulking around here."

"Why does everyone say I _sulk_?" Alex asked, quite serious. Beast Boy just laughed in turn.

"I can't believe you're here! And Raven too!"

"Don't even think about it." Raven said, as Beast Boy began to advance her with a hug. Alex laughed as Beast Boy slumped his shoulders.

"Oh, my god!" Beast Boy suddenly exclaimed, "Everyone is going to be so happy to see you! I have to call Becca!" He said as he started taking out his communicator. Flipping it open, he called all the other Titans. "Guys! Get in here quick! I have a surprise for you!" He exclaimed into the communicator.

"This better not be about that game." Cyborg deadpanned.

"No! It's even awesomer!"

Robin sighed, "Alright. Be there in a second."

Alex looked at Raven nervously, but she just took Alex's hand reassuringly again. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." She said.

"_Fine_? Are you kidding? Everyone's going to, like, maul you guys." Beast Boy said. At Alex's nervous look he continued, "That's a good thing."

It didn't take long for Cyborg to enter the room, and he immediately noticed the two girls, and that they were holding hands.

He grinned as he walked up to them, "Raven! Alex! I'm so glad y'all made it back." He said as he literally picked Alex up in a giant bear hug. Alex laughed as he twirled her around in a circle, "It wasn't the same without you."

"I missed you too." Alex laughed as he put her down. Just then, Robin and Starfire walked into the room.

"Alex!" Starfire exclaimed as she flew over to her. Alex got ready for the oncoming super strength hug as she flew up. Starfire enveloped her in a hug, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Alex couldn't have been happier though. "It is so joyous to see you!"

"We're glad that you came back." Robin said as Starfire let go. He walked up to Alex, who looked at him nervously. He let a smile grace his lips as he hugged her lightly.

"Me too." Alex said as Robin backed away from the hug, "But I have to admit…I wouldn't have come back if Raven hadn't convinced me. Don't get me wrong, I missed you all, but…" She trailed off, unsure what to say.

"It's okay." Cyborg said, placing a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "We're just glad you're back now."

Raven nodded, reaching for Alex's hand. The motion didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team. Cyborg and Robin smirked knowingly while Starfire smiled for her friends.

Beast Boy still didn't know what was going on.

"So…y'all are?..." Cyborg trailed off, the rest not needing to be said. Neither Alex nor Raven could look any of the Titans in the eyes as they blushed a crimson red. Cyborg kept his smirk, "Well, It's about time."

"Congratulations!" Starfire exclaimed, "I wish the two of you happiness."

"Thanks." The blushing girls managed.

"Seriously, were Starfire and I that clueless?" Robin asked.

"Yes." Raven, Alex, and Cyborg answered in unison. Robin slumped his shoulders.

"Wait." Beast Boy said, semi-confused. "What?"

Cyborg sighed, "You _still _don't know? Dude, you joked about it all the time."

Beast Boy looked from Cyborg to the two blushing girls, and then saw them holding hands.

It suddenly clicked.

"_Ohh!_ Raven and Alex are actually _lesbians_?"

Everyone in the room nearly face-palmed.

XXX

That night, Raven and Alex sat on Raven's bed, ready to go to sleep.

"I told you it wouldn't be so bad." Raven said.

"Yeah, yeah." Alex smiled, waving a dismissive hand. She was pleasantly surprised when Raven suddenly leaned over and caught her lips with her own.

It didn't take long for the kiss to become heated.

Alex broke away, "We should sleep." She insisted.

"Sleep." Raven nodded, trying not to show her disappointment.

"Hey," Alex smiled, "I'll still be here to kiss in the morning."

"You better."

"Is that a threat?"

"Possibly. Though, I doubt you wouldn't like the consequences."

Alex raised a brow, "Kinky. I never knew you had it in you."

Raven suppressed a laugh as she lightly slapped Alex on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Alex said, dramatically reaching for her shoulder, "I don't know if we can keep this relationship going if you're going to keep beating me, Raven."

Raven rolled her eyes as she laid down, "You love it."

Alex sighed contently as she laid down next to Raven, snaking an arm over her protectively. "You know me too well."

Both girls smiled gently as they quickly dozed off to sleep.

It was the most peaceful night's rest either of them had gotten in a while.

* * *

><p><em>So it occurred to me that in the last chapter I forgot to put information about the song.<em>

_So, the last chapter is: I'll Be The Wings That Keep Your Heart In The Clouds by Mayday Parade._

_This chapter: Saviour by Rise Against._

_And yeah I kind of realize this chapter seems rushed...sorry again . I seem to be failing lately._

_Anyway, thanks for reading! Probably...one more chapter to go? MAYBE two. _

_Review plawks :)  
><em>


	20. 15 Fathoms, Counting

**AN: **I FRICK FRAKING FINALLY DID IT. Here's the (probably) anti-climactic ending that took me like 4 years to write :)

* * *

><p><strong>15 Fathoms, Counting<strong>

Raven stood at the side of the couch in the common room, watching the sleeping form of Alex, a small smirk forming on her lips at the sound of her slight snore. If Raven were to be honest with herself, she knew she wouldn't mind staying in that moment for a while, simply content with the calm serenity of the scene.

After a few moments of silent debate, Raven finally decided to wake the sleeping brunette. There _were_ people waiting, after all.

"Alex." Raven said softly, reaching a hand out to shake the girl lightly. Alex immediately squeezed her eyes shut tighter, burying her head deeper into the pillow.

"Mmh." Was all she managed.

"Alex, come on. Wake up." Raven continued, amusement clear in her voice.

"_Why_?" Alex asked tiredly, keeping her eyes closed.

"I have a surprise for you." Raven answered.

Alex groaned, turning to her side, now facing Raven, "I thought we already established how I feel about surprises."

"We've established that you love them."

"_Lies_."

Raven lifted a brow, waiting for Alex to show some sort of sign that she was actually going to get up. After a couple moments passed with no movement, she sighed, "Alright, I'm serious now. Get up," And all though Raven was_ trying_ to sound serious, there was still a distinct hint of mirth in her tone.

Alex groaned again, before repeating her earlier question with a bit more exasperation, "_Why_?"

"I _told _you why."

"Can't the 'surprise' wait until it's not so freaking early?"

"It's already 11."

"_Some_ people consider that early."

"_Alex_."

"_Raven_."

Raven merely narrowed her eyes on the brunette, who hadn't even opened her eyes yet, and was clearly not planning on getting up any time soon.

She decided it was time to break out the big guns.

"If you don't get up, I'm not going to let you kiss me for a week."

At that, Alex finally cracked open her eyes, letting her gaze fall to Raven, "Okay, first of all, '_let'_ me?" She asked with a raised brow, indicating her amusement at the somewhat immature blackmail, "Second of all," She continued as she shut her eyes again with a small sigh, "You're bluffing."

"Yes, _let _you. And what makes you think I'm bluffing?" Raven asked. She was _totally_ bluffing, but Alex didn't need to know that.

Alex merely grinned, "I'm too irresistible."

"More like arrogant." Raven retorted.

"I can't help it. It's too early for modesty to kick in."

"Again, it's already 11."

"Details," Alex mumbled, "Besides, what's the surprise even for, anyway?" Before Raven had a chance to answer, a thought occurred to Alex, making her sit up immediately, eyes suddenly wide with worry, "Oh, my god, has it been a month already? Is this some sort of month-a-versary thing? Holy crap. Oh, my god! I need to—"

"Calm down," Raven interrupted with a grin before continuing, "I didn't even know you were into the month-a-versary thing."

Alex blushed lightly, embarrassed by her outburst, "Well, what's the surprise for, then?"

"Well…when I said, 'I have a surprise for you', I _might_ have meant '_we_ have a surprise for you." Raven clarified.

"Whose 'we'? And you still aren't answering _what the surprise is for._"

"_Us_," Raven answered before continuing, "And can't we have a surprise for you without there being some sort of occasion?"

Alex gave Raven a half-hearted glare, "It is _way_ too early for this." As Raven opened her mouth to speak, Alex cut her off, "It's only 11. Yeah, I got it." She sighed, "Can I at least brush my teeth and stuff first?"

Raven rolled her eyes with a smile, "Fine. Just hurry up, will you? Everyone is waiting."

"Yeah, yeah…" Alex mumbled as she finally got up from the bed and shuffled her way to the bathroom with a tired yawn.

After Alex was (finally) ready, she let Raven lead the way, "Ladies' first." She grinned brightly. After a few moments, she let her curiosity get the best of her, "So…where are we going?"

"Surprise. Remember?"

Alex sighed again, but it ended up sounding more like a laugh, "You are seriously _impossible_."

"And you're grumpy in the mornings." Raven retaliated with a sidelong glance and a smirk.

Alex laughed, "Okay, you know what? It's not my fault that you can run on like two hours of sleep. I need at _least_ eight."

"You're the one who made us watch all those movies." Raven reminded.

"That can hardly be considered my fault. I mean, _really_? You never saw _Pocahontas _before? Or _Mulan_? Or _The Lion King_? Seriously, Raven, it's _**The Lion King**_! We really need to get you educated in Disney movies."

"Sounds intriguing." Raven deadpanned, before pulling Alex to a stop in front of a door that was just down the hall from Raven's room.

Alex raised a curious brow, "A door."

Raven shook her head with amusement, "We've been over this before. It's what's _behind_ the door."

"Right," Alex chuckled as she opened the door and looked into the room, which was too dark for her to even see anything, "Oh. A dark room. I'm thoroughly surprised."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Stop being so difficult," She said as she grabbed Alex's hand and dragged her in.

"Jesus Christ, Alex. We've only been waiting for over a _half hour_ here. Way to take your time."

"Er…Dan? Is that you?"

The question was answered by a flurry of nervous chuckles before she heard a chorus of, "_Surprise_!" And the lights were switched on.

Standing in the room Alex saw the rest of the Titans, accompanied by Justin, Andrew, Becca, Stacey, Dan, and their son Mikey. And while Alex was surprised (and happy) to see all of her friends in one place, she couldn't help but take notice of the room itself.

The layout seemed to resemble the Titan's bedrooms (from what Alex had seen of them), with two doors she could see, one she assumed leading to a bathroom and another for a closet. The walls were painted a dark gray, with a mural of the view of Jump City at night on the back wall. A queen sized bed sat against one of the walls, accompanied by a desk to the side, where Alex saw what she thought could have been a small stack of books or movies.

Raven grinned at Alex as she took in the sight of the room, "Welcome to your room."

Alex did a double-take, "Wait, what? _My _room? As in, like, I have my _own room _here?" She asked, slightly unbelieving.

Raven merely nodded, her grin turning into one of her rare full-blown smiles, "There's also this…" She said, showing Alex what she had in the palm of her hand.

Alex gasped at the sight of the communicator in Raven's hand, tentatively reaching out to take it before she paused and searched Raven's eyes for approval. At the violet-haired girls muted nod, Alex carefully grabbed the device,

Raven nodded again, "I've already told you, you're one of us. This just makes it official," She said, still smiling, "You're kind of stuck with us now."

Alex was struck speechless. Looking from the communicator to, to the room and her friends, and back to Raven, she felt her eyes begin to water. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like she belonged, was accepted, and all around _loved_ by those around her.

"Raven…" Was all she could manage, unable to come up with words for how truly appreciative she was.

Without another thought, she pulled Raven into a passionate, sweet kiss, trying to show her how much it all meant to her. Raven immediately leaned into the kiss, linking her arms around Alex's neck as she reciprocated with just as much passion.

Someone cleared their throat loudly, "I'd like to take this moment to remind everyone that there is a _toddler_ in the room…"

The two girls quickly separated, but kept close enough so that Raven still had her arms linked around Alex's neck.

Alex blushed a crimson red and cleared her throat awkwardly as she turned to everyone else (whom she might have momentarily forgotten was there), "Uh…sorry."

Raven was blushing just as deeply as she grinned, "I'll take it that means you like everything?"

"You have no idea." Alex smiled back, before leaning in for another quick kiss. "This is too amazing for words."

"It's not like it was _all_ Raven's idea," Beast Boy commented, "We helped too, ya know."

"Yeah," Cyborg added with a playful smirk, "Does this mean we all get kisses, too?"

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Raise your hand if you want a kiss from Alex!" Becca exclaimed with a grin, immediately raising her hand into the air.

A pause.

Justin sighed, "Andrew, put your hand down." Andrew pouted, but complied.

Alex couldn't keep the smile off her face as she looked at all her friends, "Thanks, you guys. Really, this means the world to me."

Mikey walked up to Alex, "'Lex kiss." He said, smiling as he held up his hands, asking to be picked up.

"Awww," Alex chuckled as she picked him up and gave him a kiss on the forehead, "I missed you, too, kid." She said before turning to his parents as she set him back down, "And not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"What, we can't visit a friend?" Stacey asked.

"You know that's not what I meant," Alex rolled her eyes playfully.

"Yeah, well," Stacey started before she mumbled, "Maybe we decided to move here."

"Ah, and by 'we decided' she means 'she decided' and 'Dan has no say in this'." Dan added.

"Shut up, stop making me look bad. This was your idea."

"Yeah, well," Dan repeated his wife's earlier words, "They didn't need to know that."

"You're _moving_ here?" Alex asked with a renewed smile, now even happier if it were possible, "Why?"

Stacey shrugged, "Kinda tired of that old town. Want Mikey to have more opportunities and stuff, you know? Also I was thinking of opening a martial arts class again. And Dan wanted to branch out for his restaurant, too."

Alex squealed and ran over to Stacey, giving her a big hug, which she returned with a laugh before Alex said, "I'm so excited! This is so cool!"

"And, actually, speaking of moving, we have an appointment to go look at houses so if you'd excuse us…" Dan added quickly, gathering his son up in his arms, "But uh…congratulations." Alex smiled at him and gave him a friendly punch on the arm, to which he exaggeratedly said 'ow'. He turned to the rest of the Titans, "And thanks for inviting us." Stacey nodded in agreement and waved goodbye before following her husband to the door. Dan hesitantly turned around and looked Alex in the eye, "And Alex? Your, uh…your parents would be very proud of you. I know I am."

Alex didn't know how to express her gratitude for that statement. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she walked up to Dan and gave him a hug. He made sure to look uncomfortable but accepted it warmly.

Dan cleared his throat, trying to convey that the hug was long enough and she could let go now, "Yeah, you're welcome. Please let go."

Alex gave a watery smile up at him, "Thanks, Dan. I guess you're pretty cool."

"Of course I am. But seriously, we're running late because you showed up late to the party, so we'll see you later."

"Bye, then. Have fun looking at houses!"

"Yes, it's going to be a bucket full of fun." He said as he turned back around and headed out the door.

Stacey grinned and followed him, saying low enough for Alex not to hear, "I knew you loved her."

"Ugh. Stop."

Stacey's grin widened.

As they left Raven saw Alex's emotional state and went up to her, "Are you alright?" Alex smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, this is just a lot. And way too cool. And I don't know how to thank you guys."

"Being an active member of this team is thanks enough," Robin said.

She nodded, "No problem with that one. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

"Good." Raven said, linking their arms together.

"This is so neat!" Becca exclaimed, "Who wants to celebrate! Pizza? Anyone?"

"Ah, you know us too well," Cyborg smiled, "We're always down for pizza."

"Pizza: the breakfast of champions." Alex added.

"It wouldn't be breakfast if you woke up earlier." Raven kindly informed.

"I wasn't complaining; pizza is the best breakfast."

"Well let's go then!" Andrew said, "I'm starving!"

XXX

Everyone sat around a table, each filling themselves with the delicious pizza and talking over each other. Alex laughed to herself, taking In the scene before her.

Cyborg, Beast Boy and Becca were all arguing over something trivial while Robin tried to calm them down. Starfire and Andrew were talking animatedly to each other about something or another, while Raven and Justin were content to just listen, every once in a while putting in their own two cents.

As she watched them, Alex briefly thought of her parents, and the words Dan had said before. Would they be proud of her? She had her doubts, but accepted Dan's words nonetheless. She thought of how many mistakes she's made, how many times she'd failed, and all the thing's she'd regretted.

But she also thought of the people she'd helped, the times she treasured, and how looking back at it now, she wouldn't change anything if it meant she couldn't have what she now had.

Of course she wasn't perfect, but she was hell-bent on doing her best for the rest of her life. And if her parents' weren't proud of that, then she didn't know what they would be proud of.

"Alex?" Raven asked, breaking the girl out of her revere, "You're awfully quiet. Are you okay?"

Alex smiled, a true smile that reached her eyes, and nodded, "Yeah, I was just thinking."

"About what?" Justin asked.

"How great you guys all are." Alex kept her smile, "And how much I'm looking forward to whatever life has in store. You guys are the best."

"Aw, you're too cute." Becca replied, "But yes. I agree. We are the best."

Raven linked her hand with Alex's, "I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too." She agreed, "Remind me to never leave again."

"I'll hold you to it." Raven grinned, leaning her head on Alex's shoulder.

Alex was still smiling, enjoying the moment she was in and the company she kept.

She loved her new family.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thank you guys for reading! I really appreciate it. I'm sorry if its not what you expected; I'm a little rusty when it comes to the writing. I seriously love you guys for reading though! Anyway, I'm going to try and write a sequel if I can decide which idea I want to stick with. Maybe a crossover with Buffy? Hmm. Demons, yes, maybe the reappearance of Raven's Father? Hmmm. Maybe. If anyone wants to help with a sequel just PM me and lemme know :)

But yeah. For the final song I decided to go with 15 Fathoms, Counting by Bring Me The Horizon because it's chill and laid back and it makes me happy haha.


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